AmberEyed Cobalt
by Marii Art
Summary: In progress of being rewritten. I'm hoping to have the first chapter done by Dec. 25 or so. I promise the revised edition will be much better. This will be removed as soon as the first chapter is up.
1. A Dream Encounter

**Okay I read the **_**Warriors**_** book series sometimes, and one time one of the protagonists of Yugioh 5Ds reminded me of a MAJOR antagonist of **_**Warriors**_** for some odd reason. I learned why and I thought it was kinda creepy. So, without further ado, I present to you Yugioh 5Ds: Amber-Eyed Cobalt!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh 5Ds or **_**Warriors**_**. They belong to their respective owners.**

**Amber-Eyed Cobalt**

Yusei stared out the window of the place he once had and had once again taken temporary residence. He stared at the clear frozen water in the pool, wondering if there was anything more beautiful than it.

The five signers of the Crimson Dragon (minus Luna) along with the former Dark Signers (minus Rex and Roman) had decided to stay with the twins for the week in order to visit and catch up with each other.

_Of course there is._ Yusei thought. _Nothing is more beautiful than my Black Rose._ He shook his head as he scolded himself for his earlier thoughts. The young Satellite's thoughts were disrupted by a jolt of electricity shooting down his spine, followed by his hair becoming even more messed up than it already was, then some laughter from behind him.

"You've been staring out the window since 4:30 in the morning!" Jack jeered as a smirk of success spread across his face. However, that soon changed to painful flinching as a fist of dark energy slammed down on his head.

"It's 4:35 knucklehead," Crow corrected, "but he _does_ have a point Yusei." He said, turning to said signer.

"Do NOT do that again Birdbrain or so help Ra I will blast you into the next millennium with Fist of Fate!" Jack threatened as he tightly curled his right hand into a fist.

Carly poked her head out of the doorway, eyes widened (she doesn't wear her glasses anymore) by what she'd just heard Jack say. "Jack? D-did you say what I thought you just said?"

"What about it?" Crow asked curiously.

"Well, I've been studying Ancient Egypt lately, and I learned that there were three Egyptian Gods, which Maximillion Pegasus later made cards of: Obelisk the Tormentor, Slifer the Sky Dragon, and finally, the most powerful of the trio, The Winged Dragon of Ra. I also learned that Fist of Fate was a move that Obelisk was able to use."

"That's correct Carly." Jack said once again smirking.

"And how would you know that, huh Jack?" Crow asked, along with basically imploring for a death wish.

"I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure I can read." Jack replied, confident and smug as ever.

Crow and Carly just stared at the former Turbo King, eyes widened with shock.

"So that's why that book was on the dresser..." Carly trailed off, unable to find apt words.

Crow opened his mouth to speak -or more like taunt- but Jack quickly and _immediately_ cut him off. "And if you even DARE say that comment about the type of book I'll change your death to a quick snap of the neck!"

Yusei silently watched his two allies continue to spit insults at each other. _It's like a parody of volleyball._ He thought._ A continual game of volleyball. _

It was 11:30 A.M. when the argument had started. It was now 1:45 P.M. and Akiza, Carly and Luna along with help from Misty were cleaning up from lunch.

"Hey Akiza, did you see Yusei this morning?" Misty asked.

"I did." Carly said. "He didn't say a word all morning!"

"Not a sound?" Akiza asked, then replied to Misty's question. "And no, I didn't see him."

"Nope." Carly replied.

Luna looked up from her plate. _Akiza looks worried._ She thought. It was true. Just from a glance at the Black Rose's eyes even a blind man could tell she fretted for her loved one.

Luna spoke up. "Where is Yusei anyway?" She asked. "I didn't see him at lunch earlier."

As they thought about it, the other girls agreed with her. "True. I just hope he's okay." Misty said. _For Akiza's sake._

Yusei had slipped out of the house just when Misty called for lunch. Before he left, the young Satellite quickly grabbed his notebook and a sharpened pencil with a good eraser. Yusei slowly and silently opened and closed the front door of the twins' mansion, but once the door was shut, the cobalt-eyed duelist dashed away from the house until he was a good distance away from it. He then steadied his pace to a walk.

It was just minutes until Yusei reached his destination: the park. He walked over to a bench and sat down. He shivered, but then tried not to pay attention to the bitter cold. Yusei's eyes peered down at the notebook in his hand. He opened it up to a blank page and began a sketch.

Yusei had finished his drawing of a very detailed Stardust Dragon, Junk Warrior, a blue dragon with orange wings and bits of white, himself, and a lean, muscular black cat. His eyes were so realistic Yusei couldn't take his own eyes off of them. The young Satellite reached into his pocket and removed a colored pencil, colored in the cat's eyes, then put it back. Now it was deep cobalt eyes staring into the depths of intimidating amber.

It had been only two minutes when a sound pierced the silence.

_Yusei._

The current Turbo King blinked in surprise at the mention of his name. He glanced around and realized that the moon was already up high in the sky. If Yusei had to guess, it was about 10:30 P.M. He abruptly closed his notebook, slid the pencil inside the spine, and dashed back the way he had come so many hours ago.

Yusei slipped inside the mansion and went to his room. He set his pencil and notebook on the dresser along with the colored pencil he'd brought with him earlier. Yusei simply laid on his bed rather than actually getting in it. He felt hot. Hotter than usual. It seemed like an eternity before the young Satellite finally went to sleep. However, no one ever mentioned anything about an _undisturbed_ sleep...

Black forest was all there was to look at as Yusei silently walked on the dirt pathway laid before him. It felt like a thousand millennium before he came across a clearing. As he stepped into the middle, the cobalt-eyed duelist immediately glared at a clump of bushes. He didn't know why, but Yusei could smell something. It was as if he could sense a presence here, but instead he could smell it.

"Who's there?" Yusei asked firmly. "Show yourself."

Obeying his orders, a sleek, muscular black cat emerged from the ferns. He returned Yusei's heartless glare as he padded closer. They were only three feet apart when the cat spoke.

"Hello, Yusei." The tabby greeted with a half smile half smirk. His tone was firm but not harsh.

"Tigerclaw." Yusei replied. His breath caught in his throat. How did he know this cat? _Where have I seen him before?_ Then it hit him like a comet against Earth.

"The drawing." The young Satellite breathed.

Tigerclaw nodded. "That's correct. Pardon me for intruding your dreams without your permission, but I have a request for you."

"What?" Yusei asked with an emotionless tone.

"I've passed away in my world, but while in this forest, I learned that somehow I am connected to you." The tabby replied. "Therefore I have come here with but one offer."

"I decline." Yusei said, his voice harsher than usual.

"You don't even know what it is. And yet you already decline." Tigerclaw meowed. He then understood. "It's not to share a body with you."

Yusei blinked. "Then what is it Tigerclaw?"

"I wish to offer you my power."

"Like?"

"I will give you my catlike abilities, such as the strengthening of your sight, hearing and smell." The black cat replied with a flick of his tail. "You've already used them once each."

The cobalt-eyed duelist was perplexed. "What? When?"

"When you were coming home from the park tonight." Tigerclaw replied. "How else would you've been able to see in such darkness? And when you found me. You smelled me before you saw me. And let's not forget _before_ you left the park. You could hear my voice whispering your name."

"I'm not sure about your offer." Yusei said. "However, if you give me time, I will think about it."

Tigerclaw nodded, fully understanding the situation. "I will return tomorrow night. Before then, you will see just what will happen between your friends." He looked up at the moon. "Your beloved will be continually pulled away from you, so she is not involved. However, the others will prove to be a problem. If you accept my offer, you will immediately know what to do with your friends." Tigerclaw looked back at Yusei. "Although I assure you you'll know before then."

The tabby turned, his back now facing Yusei. "I expect an answer tomorrow night. I won't come to you again if you refuse, and you must never tell _anyone_ of our meetings."

Yusei nodded. "I understand." He replied.

"Goodbye, Yusei." And with that Tigerclaw fled, leaving Yusei alone in the dark forest, but not intimidated by its lurking shadows.

"Until tomorrow night, Tigerclaw." He said with a smirk, eyes beginning to gleam.


	2. Yusei's Decision

**Hey guys and girls! Welcome back to Amber-Eyed Cobalt! Sooo sorry it's been so long since I've updated, but it's not like anyone's really reading this. Anyway, enough suspense! Let's find out what happens with Yusei!**

**

* * *

**

**Amber-Eyed Cobalt**

Yusei sat on his bed. He was still thinking about the incident that night. _That was too real to be a coincidence._ He thought. _Well, at least I know I'm not losing it. Or at least I hope not._

The cobalt-eyed duelist shifted and slid off the bed. He looked up and stared at the door. Voices could be heard from behind it._ The others are probably up._ Yusei thought.

But before he stood up, the cobalt-eyed duelist heard a voice clearly. Too clearly for his liking.

"C'mon! We're gonna be late!"

Yusei knew that voice all too familiar. _Jack._ He thought. The sound of footsteps could be heard behind his door. Yusei then heard another door open and close, but before that, he heard a female voice, then another male's voice.

"Shouldn't we ask Yusei if he wants to come with us?"

"Naw. He can go on his own time. We'll be much better off without him."

_Akiza and Crow!_ Yusei's eyes widened. Five minutes since the door had shut, he finally spoke. "How could they? None of them had even bothered to touch the door!" His heart sank as he remembered Tigerclaw's words. "Tigerclaw was right. A conflict between me and my friends is beginning to form. Akiza's being pulled away from me." Yusei sighed. "Oh, what do I do?"

* * *

The rest of the day went on in the same way. Yusei's friends deciding to do something without considering to ask Yusei if he wanted to go, always pulling Akiza away from him before she could say anything. All day while he was inside he sat on his bed with his notebook and pencil and drew. The only other things he did were work on his duel runner and go for walks.

It seemed like Pharaoh's millennia* before nightfall came. Everyone had gone to sleep. Of course, except for Yusei. He lay on his bed, longing for something when he didn't even know what it was. The cobalt-eyed duelist licked his lips in anticipation, although he didn't know why.

_I'm waiting for you, my kitten._

Yusei glanced around. He knew _who_ the voice belonged to, but his question was _where_ it was coming from.

_Sleep and come to me, my child.  
_

Yusei did as he was told, and closed his eyes. Once he did he immediately fell asleep._

* * *

_The black tabby glanced around the clearing, searching for what StarClan could've even mistaken as his alternate form. He licked his lips in anticipation. "That blasted orange-fur can't stop me this time. Then again, not even he would understand that I'm doing nothing but attempting to help the innocent." _Or seemingly innocent._

Tigerclaw's attention jerked to the pathway in which Yusei was supposed to -and ultimately did- appear on. Something, Tigerclaw could feel it, had the cobalt-eyed duelist focusing solely on one thing, although he couldn't quite put a paw on it (No pun intended here folks).

"I'm back, and I've made my decision."

"Of course."

Yusei couldn't hold it back any longer. He smirked and began to laugh as if he were insane. "I accept your offer Tigerclaw!" He shouted.

Tigerclaw was intrigued by the cobalt-eyed duelist's reaction after what had occurred the night before. "Very well then." He replied. "Hold still. This will either sting or tickle." The muscular tabby ejected his claws and pounced onto Yusei's chest, focusing on the left side of it. However before Tigerclaw could actually leap onto Yusei, his claws his their mark. They swiftly sank into Yusei's chest and, eventually, his heart.

However Yusei didn't cry out. It didn't hurt. Sure he stepped back, but he wasn't knocked down at all. Tigerclaw used his hind paws to force his fore claws out of the duelist's chest, sickly sliding out. Yusei immediately put his hand up to the spot that had been struck. Blood was now oozing out of the claw holes, dying his shirt and jacket a gory-looking red. His smirk grew wider, indicating he was probably about to go insane. "Thank you Tigerclaw." The duelist muttered, eyes shut but not squinting. "I've got something to take care of, so I'll catch up with you later." And with that, he left.

"His friends had better be ready," Tigerclaw whispered. "or else they might not make this, not like Yusei will allow them to anyway."

* * *

It was early morning and Jack had already fixed up his deck to duel Crow later. He glanced at Yusei's door. _Something's up, though I doubt it'll be anything important. After all I know it's nothing signer-related._ He sighed and waited for his friends to wake up. _It's going to be a long and torturous day._ The blonde thought.

However no one knew just how real that statement truly was.

* * *

**So, how was it? Short, I know, but it's something! That just shows how much I don't think I need to continue this. Like I said, I'm not sure if I'll continue this, but if I feel like I should, then I will. But for now, I'll be working on something else. So, see ya! R&R! Oh, and flames are not appreciated!**


	3. The True Bloody Beginning

**It's about time I've updated this! So sorry for quick, boring story so far! I'll try to make it better! Anyway, in the last chapter, Yusei accepts Tigerclaw's offer and gains his powers and abilities. Jack is unaware of just how right he is about the current day. And has anyone wondered just what I meant when I mentioned a 'dark assault'? Well, you'll find out in this chapter! Now, let's begin! WARNING! Do not read this if you are eating, about to eat or have already eaten. This chapter could cause sickness to the stomach and loss of feeling in the body (I say that because I get grossed out sometimes and I can't move that well).  
**

**Amber-Eyed Cobalt**

**Chapter III: The True Bloody Beginning**

Jack sat on a chair, gritting his teeth in anticipation. He was nervous. His breaths were soft -nearly silent- yet shaky. He knew something truly gruesome was about to happen, and for some reason, Jack had the most abnormal feeling that it had something to do with Yusei.

"Nervous about the tournament?" Crow asked. Concerned gray eyes met worried violet ones.

"Not exactly." The blonde answered. "Remember how we've been basically shunning Yusei for the past couple of days?"

Crow nodded. "What's your point?"

"Well I had just so happened to get up earlier than everyone else, and I felt as if something horrible would happen today..."

"Yeah, so?"

"...I had gotten that feeling when I looked at Yusei's door."

Crow cocked his head to one side in confusion. "What? I still don't get-" His eyes grew wide. "Oh. I see where you're getting at. Yeah, that is pretty weird. I sure hope that hunch of yours is incorrect."

"Well, are you two ready to go?" Akiza asked. She had volunteered to take Yusei's place in today's Duel Tournament.

The two boys (A/N: I will rarely be referring to them or Yusei as 'men' just 'cause I don't like to) nodded. "Hai (Yes)."

"Then let's go!" Leo cheered. "C'mon Luna!" He shouted as he grabbed his sister's arm.

"Wait Leo!" Luna screamed as the twins followed the others out the door. What they didn't know is that a pair of gleaming eyes had been watching them the whole time. Bloody eyes with only the most gruesome thoughts of murder in mind.

\(-{:*:}-)/

Voices could be heard throughout the stadium as the duel teams filled the Kaiba Dome. No, this wasn't a Turbo Duel Tournament. It was just a regular Duel Tournament with the various teams.

"Duelists, may I have your attention please!" The MC's voice sounded above the chatter. The noise soon ebbed away to silence as heads turned to the speaker. The microphone made a screaming sort of sound. The duelists covered their ears in order to block out the sound. "Hang on just a minute." The MC banged the mic on the nearest wall there was and immediately stopped the sound. "Continuing on, welcome to the Daedalus Duel Tournament!"

"Why is it called the Daedalus Duel Tournament?" Leo asked the nearest of his group, which happened to be Crow.

"This tournament is in honor of the Daedalus Bridge connecting New Domino City to the Satellite." The gray-eyed duelist responded.

"Oh."

"Today is more of an opening ceremony, but there will be a duel tonight at eight o'clock. Each duel is determined by bracket matchups. Each team will be randomly given a bracket in which determines who duels who. Everyone please go to your rooms and wait for the duel to begin." Every team of every duelist and their allies did as they were told. Jack was glancing around the stadium frantically.

"I certainly hope nothing extremely terrible happens." Jack thought aloud. _Gah, what am I saying? That'll just sent Lady Luck running._

It was 7:45 P.M. when the announcement had been made. The brackets had been made ten minutes later, Team 5Ds going against Team StrikeBlast at 9:30 the next morning. The teams dueling that night were Team Starlight versus Team Fortissimo. Team Starlight were focusing around Light Attribute monsters while Team Fortissimo's decks were based on music notes and instruments.

"My my!" Akiza gasped as a violin-like monster played a tune serving as its attack with its arms. "I've never heard such a beautiful melody!"

"Nor have I." Jack agreed. "Or, at least I don't think I have anyway."

"Kyoutendouchi (Amazing)!" Luna cried, eyes sparkling with delight.

"Kyoutendouchi indeed." Crow said. He was impressed. _If only Yusei were here to see this._

The duel ended very close to a draw, but in the end it was the member of Team Fortissimo who emerged victorious. The winner waved his hand in delight as the spectators cheered wildly in excitement.

"I hope you and your team travel a well-paved road tomorrow morning." The man said as he turned to his opponent.

"What?" The other duelist -a woman- scoffed. "Team Starlight wouldn't miss this for their life!"

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I say it's about time we get some sleep." Leo yawned. The duel lasted and hour and 37 minutes, making it 9:37 P.M.

"I agree with Leo on that one!" Crow replied as he stretched.

"Hai."

No one ever said it was going to be a peaceful night though.

"Tonight I will get my revenge." A voice growled in the darkness. "Let's see how they like it when it's the innocent who pay for their crimes! Ahahahahahahaha!"

\(-{:*:}-)/

"Ahhh!" A scream, three to be exact, were cut short as the eerie night silence dragged on.

Jack jerked awake from his nightmare. It had been a truly malignant dream for the violet-eyed duelist. A cool, thin layer of sweat covered the boy's body. His breathing was harsher than it had been the other morning. The others stirred in their sleep, but did not wake up. Jack buried his face into his hands. He took his icy fingertips and slid them across his face.

_Much better._ He thought. But the sick feeling was still there in his stomach. _Just go back to sleep Jack._ He commanded himself. _Everything will be fine in the morning._ He could still hear the earsplitting shrieks that could've possibly woken him replaying in his head along with his nightmare.

\(-{:*:}-)/

The citizens of New Domino City gasped as the news of the previous night flooded the streets. It had also gotten to the Satellite, the orphan children crying and screaming at the sight on the television screen.

"We are live at the New Domino City Daedalus Duel Tournament," Carly announced on screen, no glasses and confident as ever. "where three murders were committed all in the same night! There was no evidence found at the scene except for a single thick black hair soaked in blood. However, when cleaned off, it reveals to be tinted with an orange-gold color."

Team 5Ds rushed onto the murder site, finding that the reports were true. Luna and Akiza hid their eyes while Leo and Crow just stared. Jack however, couldn't take it. It had been a repeat of his dream. The blood. The screams. The terror. He staggered backwards, unable to keep his footing. Crow noticed this and grabbed his arm.

"Hey Jack, you all right?" The gray-eyed duelist asked frantically. "Hey Jack! Jack! JACK!"

It was no use. The blonde collapsed, Akiza catching him. "Oh dear." She sighed. "Naze, naze (Why, why). These events, what was the trigger?" _Or more specifically, _who_ was the trigger? Ara koishii (Oh dear)..._

\(-{:*:}-)/

"Hey guys!"

Everyone was surprised to find Yusei entering the room they were staying in. He was looking at them with true concern, yet he was stunned by the fact that the whole of the media was here.

"Hey Yusei!" Crow greeted him. "How you been?"

"Fine I guess. You never told me you entered a Duel Tournament."

"I, well, uh, we just thought you needed a break!" Crow said nervously. "Sorry we didn't tell you."

Yusei nodded and glanced over to Jack, who was still knocked out. "What happened to him?" He asked.

"Oh, Jack fainted at a murder scene." Leo answered. "That's why the press is here."

"I was just about to ask about that." Yusei said. "I just barely slipped by."

"You mean they didn't even see you?" Crow asked in astonishment.

"Nope."

"Guys, could you please be quiet!" Luna pleaded. "I want to hear this!"

She was watching the report of the murder since the gang had to hightail it soon after they had arrived.

"The victims were found with their chests ripped open and various inner parts removed." A male reporter stated. "Half of one man's liver was found strewn across the floor along with a bit of a torn up heart."

The girls covered their mouths when the camera closed in on the mentioned parts. Leo and Crow cringed at the sight while Yusei was horridly disgusted.

"Why'd they go and do _that_?" Crow asked. "Closed in on that! Do the media _really_ think their viewers want to see it?"

"Yeah, that was just gross." Leo responded.

"Turn off the T.V. for Ra's sake!" Luna, Akiza and Yusei screamed in unison. Crow obeyed and flipped off the television.

"What...what happened?"

Everyone turned to see Jack blinking in confusion and from the brightness of the light.

"Oh, hey Jack." Yusei greeted.

At the sound of his voice, Jack withdrew obviously trying to be as far away from Yusei as possible without getting out of bed.

"What's wrong?" Yusei asked, observing his friend's movements as he walked over to him.

"Stay away from me!" Jack spat as he quickly slid out of bed. He glared at the approaching duelist with venom in his eyes. The twins shuddered when the blonde's eyes flashed a dangerous lightning yellow.

"You don't look well." Yusei responded, completely ignoring the other's warning. "Let me help." When the cobalt-eyed duelist got close enough, he put a hand on Jack's shoulder.

"I SAID STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Jack, with his signer abilities, electrocuted Yusei as the blonde was touched. The younger boy fell to his knees, screaming in pain.

"Yusei!" Akiza cried. She was about to go to her friend's side, but she stopped when Jack flung Yusei in the air with his foot and kicked him to them.

"Hey Yusei, you all right?" Crow asked. His worried look turned to a glare when the gray-eyed duelist looked up at Jack. "What's your problem Jack? What did Yusei ever do to you, huh?"

No answer. The blonde just stared at the floor, not in guilt, but in frustration. He grabbed his deck and opened the door. "It's 8:55. Since you're all worried about your friend, I'll take this duel." And with that, he stormed out the door, slamming it behind him.

_No, I mustn't let my emotions get the best of me._ Jack thought. _If anything, I need to think about the duel and _not_ about Yusei and the fact that I'm feeling a little light-headed._

"Sorry about that Yusei." Crow said. "I'm not sure what's gotten into him."

"Well, he _did_ look pretty freaked out this morning." Leo responded. "Maybe it was something he saw."

"It's all right." Yusei reassured. "Bye the way, what was that scene on T.V. all about?"

"Oh, you didn't hear?" Luna asked. "Three duelists from Team Starlight were murdered last night."

"And the funny thing is, there were no traces of evidence except for a thick black hair tinted with gold." Akiza added.

"Maybe Jack thought Yusei killed them." Luna reasoned.

"Guys, you all know I'd never do something like that." Yusei said. "Besides, there's no _real_ proof going against me. But Jack's right. He has reason to be weary around me." He turned around. "I'm leaving, but I'll make sure to stop by tomorrow when I can."

"Bye Yusei!"

"I wonder how far into the duel Jack's gotten." Luna thought aloud.

"Let's check." Crow replied as he grabbed the remote.

"Yusei's right. We should all forgive Jack for what he did this morning." Leo said. "We didn't know what was going on."

"What a magnificent duel!"

"Huh?"

It turns out the duel had already ended with only Jack's Red Dragon Archfiend and Twin Sword Marauder on the field. The monsters disappeared and Jack shook hands with another duelist who had red-hazel eyes and a feminine body. The girl's white hair glistened in the sunlight. The duelist also had on jeans, a striped shirt and a coal black trench coat with something underneath. They walked away and Crow turned off the T.V. once again.

"Well, that was a waste of time." Crow said.

"At least we know the duel's over." Luna replied. As she did so, Jack walked into the room.

"Jack, we're sorry about this morning." Akiza started. "We didn't-"

"No, Akiza." Jack interrupted. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I knew better than that, but I let my anger get the best of me." He sighed out of guilt and sat down.

Leo tried to change the subject. "So, who were you dueling today?"

"Yeah Jack. Who was that?" Crow continued for Leo. "The chick looked pretty hot."

Jack tried to stifle his laughs.

"What? She looked really cute!"

"Yeah about that." The violet-eyed duelist began the best he could. "I was dueling a _boy_. Not a _girl_."

The two boys went wide-eyed while the girls giggled a bit.

"Oh, and in case you're wondering, he lost to me so easily because he freaked out once he saw me. Then he accidentally made a dumb move and lost after the second turn.

There were many duels that day, but that didn't mean all of them did a good job. One duelist from Team Fluff lost the duel on her first turn due to the rules being mysteriously switched to First Edition. The girl stomped her foot on the ground and walked away, griping about how she lost so easily. The duelist from Team Flash Dragon smirked as a blue dragon on his field disappeared with a roar.

Leo shook with fear as he caught sight of its eyes. "Ahhh!" He screamed.

"Heh heh. Leo's a scaredy cat!" Crow teased.

"Hey!"

"Scaredy cat! Scaredy cat!"

\(-{:*:}-)/

"When the dogs are away, the cats will play. And I spy some _delicious _looking mice sleeping soundly. You'll soon be mine..."

\(-{:*:}-)/

"WHAT!"

"Again?"

"This is horrible!"

"I'm not going to look."

"I'll go then." Luna, Leo, Akiza, Jack and Crow (Respectively) said. Another murder had been committed, only this time the killer had been less cleanly about it. As Crow left, Jack heard a bang coming from the room beside theirs.

"I'll be right back." Jack said as he exited the room.

"It's my fault!" He heard someone say.

"No it's not." Another voice replied.

"But if I hadn't beaten that girl so easily, this might not have happened!"

"What do you mean?" A third voice asked.

"I understand now. A team who loses in this tournament is randomly selected as a target and then all team members but one are killed and possibly eaten that night."

Jack froze. So this was the fate bestowed upon the losing duelists? _I've got to warn the others!_

"Today's scene was horrible." Crow reported as he sat down on the couch. "More blood and guts everywhere. I almost stepped on some veins earlier."

Luna made a face. "Hey, don't we have a duel today?"

"Yeah." Akiza replied. "In six minutes. I'm dueling today."

"Akiza!" Jack screamed as he burst into the room, not to mention making everyone freeze for three seconds.

"Yes Jack?" Akiza replied.

"I, uh..." Jack shook his head. "Whatever you do...don't lose today. This may sound silly, but our lives depend on it. It'll make sense if you really think about it and the events of the past few days."

"Um, okay." The female duelist replied as she left for her duel.

\(-{:*:}-)/

**Me: Wow, that was a long chapter!**

**Jack: No kidding. It was longer than the last two chapters combined!**

**Yusei: *Shudders* I wonder who the murderer is. I KNOW it's not me.**

**Akiza, Luna and Leo: For sure.**

**Me: Well we'll find out in the next chapter!**

**Crow: Really?**

**Me: No. Mistype. What I MEANT to say was we'll find out later in the story. But for now, STAY TUNED!**

**AshKetchumForever: Hey I saw you reading a Rated M story.**

**Me: *Sweatdrops* Yeah, didn't notice the rating go up. Whoops! I am not a perv!**

**AshKetchumForever: I never said that.**

**Me: I know!**

**_AshxGlace4EVER- Thinks First, Acts Beforehand._**


	4. The Chase of Fangirls and Fanboys Alike

**Hey everyone! Wow aren't I a bloody murderer. I killed seven people in one chapter! If you're wondering how that added up, I'll explain about the tournament and the two murdered teams. In this tournament, a team may have as many members in it as desired. Team Starlight was made up of three men and a woman. The three men were killed in the first murder. The second murder was of Team Fluff, a dueling team of five girls. As we learned in the last chapter, a team that loses is randomly chosen as a target. That team then has all members but one murdered that same night. Anyway, this is more of a fanservice chapter that serves the purpose of entertaining the reader and to introduce A LOT of characters! Now then, I own nothing but the tournament and some team names, so here we go! Oh, but a quick warning: as the chapter name somewhat suggests, there will be rabid fangirls and fanboys. This chapter will be slightly turned up a notch, but I only intend on doing this every so often.**

**Amber-Eyed Cobalt**

**Chapter IV: The Chase of Fangirls and Fanboys Alike**

Akiza's duel was against a female teen from Team Kulra. Unlike Jack's duel, this one took some time. It dragged out for almost two hours before the psychic duelist triumphantly vanquished her opponent with Black Rose Dragon. The girl was wearing a black trench coat, a black and sapphire blue striped shirt, jeans and a gold pendant that was similarly shaped like Ra's wing. She had bloodstained ice blue eyes and a freezing glare, but she was full of spunk and had a brutal dueling style. Her golden-brown hair stole the Sun's glorious sheen, which came down to her waist. Her bangs were hanging sloppily, but were kept from spreading out by a golden band, one for each side. This girl's name was Agony Atenra. The 'Royal Pharaoh' (As everyone calls her) smirked and crossed her arms with her defeat. All she said to Akiza was, "You're good. That was pleasurable." and walked away. Akiza hurried into her room, shunning the uproar of the crowd the best she could.

\(-{:*:}-)/

"Well, that certainly took awhile." Jack stated as the victorious duelist entered the room. She rolled her eyes and kept walking. _This is going to be a fun night._ The blonde duelist thought.

And he was right. The night came quickly and all the remaining teams were out in the duel arena. It was like a big party. But, since he _was_ Jack, he decided to have a little fun. Well, that was _after_ he saw the shadow glass. (A/N: Shadow glass is always broken in one part, but that part is always very small. You can walk through it as if it weren't there until you shatter it. To do that, you simply shove something like a knife or dagger into the already broken part. Shadow glass is also another way to get in and out of the Shadow Realm and Abyss, as that's where it came from.) _Later._ The duelist thought. _Hm, I'll have to wait till she get's here. Then I'll do it._

There were teams who danced to the blasting music. A drunken fangirl asked for Jack's hand in marriage and, seeing that she was immensely intoxicated, the blonde duelist smashed her hand with his foot, kicked her away at a group of even more rabid fans of his, and dashed away laughing hysterically. Crow gave him a funny look until Jack whispered something in his ear. The violet eyed boy then whipped around and kicked another deranged male in the shin. Leo scurried behind his sister before tripping one of his fangirls. Luna did the same. Akiza nearly snapped a guy's neck. Kaiba (The duelist who won from Team Flash Dragon) snapped a guy's neck. Yugi (The duelist Kaiba was talking to) performed a high strike on a fanboy. Bakura (The guy Jack dueled, who's from Team Kulra) sent five fanboys and five fangirls to the Shadow Realm. Jack had then picked the impeccable moment to glance upon the Dual Tower.

And there she was.

Standing atop the tower in the stadium, leading aura through the air gracefully with her hands, smirking at the action, her single sapphire blue eye (At the moment) glowing with excitement, was the girl Jack had been waiting for.

Xerxes Glace Hydro had arrived.

Glace looked much like Agony, only her left eye was covered up by a sapphire casing. It also looked like five claws had slashed her, the detail being flawless. Her right eye had a vertical scar, though it looked elegant as ever. A lapiz aura engulfed her hands as she slid down a thin metal ramp that magically appeared out of nowhere. There were metal plates on her shoes that disappeared as they touched the ground. Glace waved at Jack, who grinned in response. She then leaped out at jack, who caught her by the wrist and, upon contact, launched her into the air. The sapphire eyed maiden then unleashed an enormous beam of auroral light, which pulverized every fangirl and fanboy. Well, more like paralyzed them. And, since we know how fangirls/boys work, then we should all know that the paralysis was only temporary.

"Run!" She screamed as she darted for a hallway entryway. Teams 5Ds (Jack, Crow, Akiza), Kulra (Agony, Blade, Draken, Steaden (You'll meet them later on), Bakura), Flash Dragon (Kaiba, Yugi, Mokuba, Ash, Noah, Ryou, Malik, Joey), Sennen (Kajenkt, Azekxia (You'll meet them soon as well), Marik, Yami, Seth), Star (Alexis, Morgan, Ryan (You'll meet them in a later story, but I'm introducing them in this one)), the remainder of Fluff (Tea), Yusei, Luna, Leo, and anyone I didn't mention that actually matters to this point of the storyline followed on her heels.

\(-{:*:}-)/

The duel teams were panting in the biggest of the rooms, which was Team Flash Dragon's. After all, it _was_ Kaiba's room. And they had the most teammates. Ash noticed a piece of paper (Which happened to be a note) in his back pant pocket. He already had an idea as to how it got there. He whistled for the attention of the other teams and quickly silenced the room. The ebony haired duelist began to read the note aloud.

_**"Dear my fellow duelists," **_The first four words seemed to have been written by four different people, each word by one each. Ash began to read the first paragraph, which was written in a neat cursive like 'Dear':

_**"So terribly sorry I had to leave as abruptly as I did. However, I had some things to take care of back home. I do hope you come visit me soon!**_

_**~Glace**_

_**(P.S. Oh, and Jack! When you come with your friends next time, you'd better be ready, if you know what I mean!)"**_

Ash began reading the next paragraph, which was written in a fancy print, quite like the word 'my'. Even a blind person and no, Toph doesn't count, could tell this person was probably female and loved nature. Well, plant wise anyway:

_**"Well, it looks like Team Star's out! Me and the rest of the team had to leave because Glace left. Ash, you can stay. Your team needs you. Well, you know where to find us!**_

_**~Alexis**_

_**(P.S. Lay a FINGER on that boy and I'm gonna kill you! This is directed at Blade Atenra.)"**_ Ash smiled. At least someone cared for him. _But there's someone I like, and it's not her. Besides, she doesn't like me in that way either._ He read the third paragraph, which had the same writing as the word 'fellow', a bit messier cursive but neat enough to read:

_**"The puppeteer is out! If you're ever looking for a good match Crow, then you know where to find me! I hope to be able to introduce myself to everyone else later on!**_

_**~Ryan**_

_**(P.S. As for you Jack, I'll be haunting you in your dreams. And then I'll have them come to take you away, ha ha!)"**_ Ash took a glance at Jack, who truly looked terrified. The ebony haired boy sweatdropped as did everyone else who noticed this and read the final paragraph. It was written in the same way the word 'duelists' was; printed with a fiery touch to it:

_**"Dang, I REALLY didn't want to leave! There were still so many duelists to defeat! Oh well, at least I can enjoy beating up the Satellite rouges with my buds!**_

_**~Morgan**_

_**(P.S. Nobody had better touch my Leo, or suffer the wrath of a thousand suns! Muahahahahaha!)"**_

"Well, that was awkward." Yusei said. He was still messed up with the whole rabid fan thing.

"Yeah." Crow replied. "Hey Yusei. I'm still a little surprised on how calmly you-"

"What? I'm not Yusei. You must be talking about my hikari." The other replied. "My name's Steaden."

Steaden could've been Yusei's identical twin, but his eyes had a silver-coal tint to them. The spikes of his hair were also tinted with different colors; top set with white, middle set with golden brown, lower set with a very light gold (Basically blonde-colored), and his bangs were black and darker than pure night. Therefore you could tell them apart from the rest of his coal colored hair. There were white specs in his bangs as well, making it seem more like a nebula that just hair. His expression was less serious than Yusei's. It was actually quite gental.

"Oh, and just to clear things up a bit," Steaden said, jabbing a finger toward what could've been Jack's twin, "That's Draken."

Draken, like Jack, had spiked hair, only those spikes were tinted with scarlet. His eyes were a heavy golden orange, but like Steaden's, they were soft. Another difference was once again about his hair. It went down to Draken's knees. And it would show that too if it hadn't been clasped in place by a shimmering blue metal band, which was holding it in the middle of the long strip. The band made the lower half of Draken's hair spike out wickedly. He waved a hello to the gang and pointed to the metal clasp. "Blue silver." He said. "One of the rarest minerals, rarer than gold. Even so it has gone undiscovered by anyone but me and my kin." Like Agony's bangs, which were held by not gold but by yellow silver, Draken's bangs were held in the same way with more blue silver. Only, like his hair, it was constricted so tightly it spiked out.

"And in case you were wondering, Jack's my hikari." Jack beamed, but he was really blushing in embarrassment. Draken pointed to another 'duplicate'. "That's Kajenkt."

Kajenkt was probably Joey's yami, considering how they look so alike. The differences between these two were the eyes for one thing. Kajenkt's eyes were tinted with an ice blue like Agony's. His hair was about as long as Glace's, who's hair came down to the end of her shoulder blades. That was really all the difference. He even had that snazzy New York accent.

"Ova dere's Azekxia." Kajenkt said.

Azekxia was found flirting with Steaden. Coincidence? Maybe. Though it was probably because Azekxia looked almost a spitting image to Akiza. The only differences were Azekxia's eyes were tinted with a silver green color and that her hair had streaks of the same color.

She blushed. "Hey Aki." (A/N Azekxia and Glace are the only ones who will commonly address Akiza by her Japanese name. In fact, they are the only ones who will do that in general.) Azekxia pointed to an unmentioned yami (That we don't already know about). "That one over there is Blade."

Remember the King of Pokelantis? You know, from Pokemon: Battle Frontier - Battling the Enemy Within? Well, guess what! The _real_ story of Pokelantis will be revealed in a Pokemon fic, but if you've read _What Happened to you Ash?_, then you should remember that in my world, the King's name is Blade. Yep, they're the same person! The only differences you'll need to know for the stories of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds that he's in are 1.) He doesn't have that sinister aura, 2.) His eyes are tinted with red. (Take note that difference 2.) is also in the Pokemon stories), 3.) There were crimson streaks in his hair, and 4.) He had a bit of his bangs held with red silver.

"Yo." He said with a wave of his hand. He seemed bored.

"Whew." Agony sighed. "I thought we'd _never_ get through that!"

"Yeah no kidding." Jack replied. He then looked up. "Wait, you're just gonna leave now, aren't you."

"Yep."

And just like Agony said, the yamis left. The ones that were in a leading team however, did not. That means Azekxia, Kajenkt, Seth, Yami, and Marik stayed. Tea left as well. Bakura decided to stay to cheer on his fellow tomb keeper.

"You guys are welcome to crash in our room if you like." Kaiba offered. "It should be big enough for all of us."

"Big bro's right. It'll be really fun!" Mokuba added.

Noah looked up from his book. "If you like, my brother, Ash, Joey and I could work on your runners not to mention our own in the morning. By the way, I'm Noah."

"Ash."

"Seto Kaiba."

"Seth."

"Yami."

"Marik"

"Joey."

"Mokuba."

"Ryou."

"Malik."

"Yugi."

Team 5Ds (Including the twins) smiled when they were finished.

Jack bowed to Kaiba as the group began their introducing round. "Jack."

"Crow."

"Yusei."

"Luna."

"Leo."

"Akiza." Said duelist smiled as she thought of her new nickname. _Aki. I like it._

Ryou chucked. "Hey Seto, I'm not so sure it would be a good idea to have any girls in the room tonight."

Kaiba gave the handsome British teen a curious glance, then grinned. "You're right." He said. "Things might get a little out of hand, if you know what I mean." He said the last part as he looked to the older boys who weren't familiar to the others' customs, but they seemed to get the point. They were glancing back and forth from each other in a nervous sort of way.

"Well then, how about Ryou, Yugi, Ash, Leo, Malik, Mokuba, Noah, and the two girls come with me and we can hang out in my room?" Azekxia suggested.

"I think that's a brilliant idea." Akiza responded.

"Yeah. Whatever the older guys are going to get into tonight, I don't think it's child-appropriate." Luna added.

"Oh, it's not. You hit that spot-on" Malik said. "Either that or it's just going to be _really_ dangerous."

"Or both." Ash replied.

"Yeah. Or both." Malik repeated.

"Okay, enough with the reiterating." Bakura growled impatiently. "The point is that things are gonna get really messed up in here, got it?"

"Got it."

"You sure you want to go through with this?" Yami asked Yusei, Jack, and Crow.

"Yeah, I think so." Yusei replied.

"It can't be _that_ bad, can it?" Crow added.

"C'mon, how hardcore can it get?" Jack finished.

"You have no idea." Yami replied.

"C'mon you guys. Let's go so these guys can have a little fun." Azekxia said as she herded her little group out the door.

"So, what should we do first?" Bakura asked.

"There's plenty of things hanging from the ceiling that look sturdy enough to hold us." Malik said referring to the objects hanging from the ceiling that didn't look fit to have someone doing an acrobatic performance on them.

"Okay then, we'll do acrobatic stunts from those then!" Joey exclaimed.

"I'll get the alcohol!" Kajenkt yelled as he dashed out the door to get the drinks.

The only thing Jack, Yusei, and Crow were thinking at the moment was: _This is gonna be fun._

\(-{:*:}-)/

Luna and Leo flinched at the loud crashing sound of shattering glass. It had been about an hour since the group transitioned from Team Flash Dragon's room to Team Sennen's room.

"What are they _doing_ in there?" Akiza asked after wondering for so long.

"Ra knows, but probably something dangerous." Malik replied.

"Or maybe something worth censoring." Ryou added.

"Yeah, that's probably it." Mokuba said. "I've seen what my brother does when he's with them, and trust me, it's not pretty. He broke his arm for a week."

"I've also laid eyes on Yami when he's drunk." Yugi said. "He once made out with all the other guys he was so intoxicated!"

"Oh, I remember that!" Noah cried. "The others didn't care because they were in the same situation as him."

"It had almost gotten _way_ out of control once." Ash said, shuddering. "That was too close for comfort."

"Yeah no kidding." Ryou replied, performing the same action as Ash.

"Wait, they're drinking _alcohol_ in there?" Akiza asked in astonishment.

"Yeah." Azekxia responded. "That's why I took you to our room. Hey! Ash! Don't get in there! You know you're not allowed to have that!"

Ash quickly put the wine bottle back in the mini fridge. "Sorry Azekxia."

The yami smiled. "Thank you. Now I know Blade lets you have that, but I'm not going to. Do you realize what kind of impression your putting on for the others?"

Ash sighed in disappointment. "You're right. So sorry. I won't do it again."

"It's all right. Only when you're with Blade, okay sweetie?"

"Okay."

"Good."

Leo yawned and stretched his arms. "Hey Akiza, I'm tired.

"Yeah me too." Luna said. Eventually, everyone agreed it was time to go to bed.

"Now, I'm pretty sure the boys will fall asleep in Kaiba's room, but I'll let you guys choose which room you want to sleep in and where." Azekxia said as she glanced nervously at the door.

"Hey guys!"

Everyone turned to the open door as Glace walked into the room.

"Hey, you're that girl from before!" Akiza exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I figured you might need a different room to stay in, so I thought I'd stay here." Glace replied. "Besides, who'd want to miss out on something like this? Hey, how about you all come and stay in my room for the night!"

"You see, Glace was staying in Team Kulra's room, so we still have access to it." Ash explained. "But I thought you had already left."

"Nah." Glace replied. "I just headed for my room and got everyone's thing's packed up for them. I didn't want to keep them waiting. Come on!" And so the eager tween lead the group back to the abandoned room of Team Kulra.

"I know Bakura's staying in Team Sennen's room for the time being, so we should be pretty good. We actually got a much bigger room than we anticipated. Oh, one minute please." Glace left the mixed teems in the hallway as she slipped into her room. The troupe outside heard some banging and screeching for about five minutes. Then they saw Glace's head pop out from the door. "Well, you coming?" So the group entered.

When the half-hyperactive tween had said the room was bigger that it needed to be, she wasn't kidding. It could've given Kaiba's mansion a run for its money! Yeah, it was that big. The kids immediately chose beds and slept two and three to a bed. Therefore, Luna, Azekxia, Akiza and Glace were the only ones still up. Glace walked over to one of the beds where Ryou, Malik and Yugi were lying awake in bed.

"Glace, I can't go to sleep." Ryou whispered.

"I don't think anyone can." Malik agreed.

"Yeah." Yugi followed. "Please help us."

"Well, all right."Glace yielded. She took a deep breath, then started singing in a soft, soothing voice.

_"Nagareteku toki no naka de de mo kedarusa ga hora guruguru mawatte_  
_ Watashi kara hanareru kokoro mo mienai wa sou shiranai?_

_Jibun kara ugoku koto mo naku toki no sukima ni nagasaretsuzukete_  
_ Shiranai wa mawari no koto nado watashi wa watashi sore dake_

_Yume miteru? Nani mo mitenai? Kataru mo muda na jibun no kotoba?_  
_ Kanashimu nante tsukareru dake yo nani mo kanjizu sugoseba ii no_

_Tomadou kotoba ataerarete mo jibun no kokoro tada uwa no sora_  
_ Moshi watashi kara ugoku no naraba subete kaeru no nara kuro ni suru_

_Konna jibun ni mirai wa aru no? Konna sekai ni watashi wa iru no?_  
_ Ima setsunai no? Ima kanashii no? Jibun no koto mo wakaranai mama_

_Ayumu koto sae tsukareru dake yo hito no koto nado shiri mo shinai wa_  
_ Konna watashi mo kawareru no nara moshi kawareru no nara shiro ni naru?_

_Nagareteku toki no naka de de mo kedarusa ga hora guruguru mawatte_  
_ Watashi kara hanareru kokoro mo mienai wa sou shiranai?_

_Jibun kara ugoku koto mo naku toki no sukima ni nagasaretsuzukete_  
_ Shiranai wa mawari no koto nado watashi wa watashi sore dake?_

_Yume miteru? Nani mo mitenai? Kataru mo muda na jibun no kotoba?_  
_ Kanashimu nante tsukareru dake yo nani mo kanjizu sugoseba ii no_

_Tomadou kotoba ataerarete mo jibun no kokoro tada uwa no sora_  
_ Moshi watashi kara ugoku no naraba subete kaeru no nara kuro ni suru_

_Muda na jikan ni mirai wa aru no? Konna tokoro ni watashi wa iru no?_  
_ Watashi no koto o iitai naraba kotoba ni suru no nara "roku de nashi"_

_Konna tokoro ni watashi wa iru no? Konna jikan ni watashi wa iru no?_  
_ Konna watashi mo kawareru no nara moshi kawareru no nara shiro ni naru?_

_Ima yume miteru? Nani mo mitenai? Kataru mo muda na jibun no kotoba?_  
_ Kanashimu nante tsukareru dake yo nani mo kanjizu sugoseba ii no_

_Tomadou kotoba ataerarete mo jibun no kokoro tada uwa no sora_  
_ Moshi watashi kara ugoku no naraba subete kaeru no nara kuro ni suru_

_Ugoku no naraba ugoku no naraba subete kowasu wa subete kowasu wa_  
_ Kanashimu naraba kanashimu naraba watashi no kokoro shiroku kawareru?_

_Anata no koto mo watashi no koto mo subete no koto mo mada shiranai no_  
_ Omoi mabuta o aketa no naraba subete kowasu no nara kuro ni nare..."_

As the golden brunette finished, Luna, Azekxia and Akiza realized with a start that the kids in bed were sound asleep. They were quite tired themselves.

"How did you do that?" Luna asked in amazement.

"Practice practice practice." Glace replied. "Good night." And soon enough she was out too.

The three girls still awake decided it was late and they would get to bed as well. They said good night as well and fell asleep under the soft covers. And thankfully, the murderer didn't strike that night.

\(-{:*:}-)/

**Glace: Well, didn't I say this was a fanservice chappie?**

**Jack: Yeah.**

**Yusei: Hey, have any of the readers noticed how Tigerclaw hasn't been mentioned since Chapter 2?**

**Glace: Other than now, that's true. And yes, I so happened to notice that a LOOONG time ago. Anyway, the total story word count is OVER 9,000!**

**Jack: Wow, you've been busy.**

**Glace: Yep, and now since I've posted Chapter IV, I now get to work on my Christmas fanfic! Yippie for updates!**

**Yusei: And I can't BELIEVE what you did to us in that story!**

**Glace: Hey, admit it, it wasn't all THAT bad. Right Jack?**

**Jack: Right. Hey, even I liked what I had to wear.**

**Glace: See.**

**Yusei: Okay, I'll admit as well that what I have to wear was actually pretty sweet.**

**Glace: Moving on, expect more death, blood and entrails along with a surprising, well, surprise!**

**Ash, Rai and Blade: Read and review!**

**Jack and Yusei: You're late! *Blasts them with various bombs and war weapons*  
**


	5. A Stunning Secret

**Hey everyone! Welcome back to yet another chapter of Amber-Eyed Cobalt! As I mentioned in the last chapter, there will be a surprise in this one, which I'm sure you'll all find quite surprising. Anyway, also in the last chapter, Glace had invited a group to sleep in her room for the night. And that's where we left off. Oh by the way, the song Glace sings in Chapter IV is called Bad Apple from Touhou. Enjoy!**

**Amber-Eyed Cobalt**

**Chapter V: A Stunning Secret**

Jack sat up in bed as he had a few days ago. It was the night after the party and his headache still lingered slightly. However, that didn't matter now. He was sure he had heard a scream. He was sure of it.

_No one else is awake._ The blonde duelist thought with a slight feeling of annoyance. _It must have been nothing. I must be going mad. Yes, that's the case. I'm just going mad. I'm hearing things._

It was then that he remembered his eye. His right eye to be precise. He closed his left eye so he could only see out of his right. His vision was blurry.

_And to make matters worse, I'm going blind in one eye. Just great._ If you looked at that eye, it would look more of a lavender color with a cloudy texture. This irked him to his limits. Nonetheless, he went to sleep.

But it was only three minutes after when Jack's hands began to tighten. He was having another nightmare.

\(-{:*:}-)/

Jack was shocked. His nightmare had come to life.

Every losing duel team (Save for the ones mentioned in Chapter IV) that hadn't already been attacked had lost that privilege in one night. This time, every member had been killed.

_I knew it was coming. I shouldn't have ignored it._ Jack thought in frustration. _Why, why, WHY?_

His rant was interrupted by a voice.

"What's wrong?" Yusei asked.

"Everything." Jack replied. "I can't take this anymore. I'm going mad."

"Are you?"

"Yusei, are you on my right?" Jack asked. "I can't tell."

"Hm? Can't you see me?"

"Well, sort of. You see, I think my sight is dimming in my right eye."

"Oh, is that so?"

The duels continued. It was Team Flash Dragon versus Team 5Ds: Yugi versus Jack.

"I activate Monster Reborn!" Yugi shouted as he placed the card on his duel disk. "With this I can bring back a monster in my Graveyard. And I choose-"

"Hold on!" Jack said. "I activate a Trap Card!" A violet card flipped up from face-down position. "Dragon Counter Strike!"

"Dragon Counter Strike!" Yugi exclaimed. "How did you get _that_?"

"A friend of mine. If you activate a card which has the effect to summon a monster, I can activate this card by sacrificing a Dragon-Type monster to switch the control of that card. In this case, to me. So, I sacrifice my Red Dragon Archfiend! But it won't be gone for long, because I'm going to use Monster Reborn to bring him back!" As he said this, the enormous dragon reappeared on the field. "Now to the second effect: if I have any Dragon-Type monsters on my field at the moment, which I do, I can attack you directly! And the best part, any card you play will not take effect! Red Dragon Archfiend! ATTACK!"

With his master's command, the demon dragon charged and fired a blast which eliminated the remainder of Yugi's life points. The duelists walked to the center of the field.

"That was amazing." Yugi commented. "I hope to battle you again some day."

"I'm going to guess that you were going to revive the Winged Dragon of Ra, is that correct?" Jack said.

"Yeah. By the way, sweet trap."

"Thanks."

\(-{:*:}-)/

The rest of the duels proceeded as normal. There were only two teams left: Team 5Ds and Team Magic. They would be dueling tomorrow. So everyone went to sleep that night. There were many teams who tied, and the murderer intended on finishing them off in that one night. Well, everyone except for the two continuing teams. It wasn't long before the screams pierced the night once again.

\(-{:*:}-)/

"Ah!" Jack screamed as he jolted up on his bed. Now he was certain he had heard something, and he wasn't to ignore it tonight. He slipped out of bed and quietly as he could manage slipped out the door. He slowly walked down that hallway, turning his head to every sound. The hallways became darker. It was hard to see now.

"You shouldn't be up wandering the hallways at this late hour." A voice, threatening yet soothing, growled behind him. Jack whipped around and was met with darkness. No, not quite. There was something there, walking closer and closer to him, glaring at his with glowing eyes. Half cobalt and half amber. Jack shuddered in fear. He had never been as terrified in his life as he was now.

It was then that the figure, with its long, furry tail whipping the air, its tongue licking its lips, its claws ejected and fangs partially visible, whiskers twitching in delight and amusement, its blood-covered body truly a hideous sight, emerged from the shadows. And to Jack's utter astonishment...

"You could get hurt."

...it was none other than Yusei Fudo.

"Yu-Yusei?" Jack asked.

Yusei nodded. "So you've finally found out, have you?" He let out a deep chuckle. "It's about time. I was worried that my cover was blown that day."

"Why Yusei? Why are you doing this?" Jack shouted.

"You completely ignored me!" Yusei replied furiously. "You never cared if I wanted to tag along for ANYTHING!"

"Then why them?" Jack asked. "If you wanted to punish someone, why not do it directly? Go ahead and kill me now! Satisfy your hunger for revenge with me! Not your friends! They had no part in this! It was all my doing!"

Yusei laughed in amusement. "No, I won't do that. Not just yet." He walked closer to his friend. He pressed on Jack's shoulder with his fingertips. Jack immediately gave in and got on his hands and knees. Yusei then knelt down by his friend's side and began to whisper in his ear. "I was given this power by a wonderful cat by the name of Tigerclaw. No, he isn't controlling me. I'm doing this by my own free will. I would also like to inform you that I've already eaten the other dueling teams. Oh, and I _completely_ finished them this time. Of course, I couldn't get to Teams Kulra, Flash Dragon, and Sennen." He once again stepped in front of Jack and, using a clawed hand, did something horrible. He slashed at the left side of Jack's face. But he didn't just claw at his eye.

He flawlessly pulled it out.

No scratches. You couldn't even tell he had pulled it out. The only thing remaining was five horizontal claw marks across Jack's face, similar to those on Glace's face. It had all happened so quickly. Just as it had been done, Jack immediately pulled his left hand to where his right eye would be, covering it and in the process covering his hand with his own blood, and screamed. He screamed so loudly that it woke up Team 5Ds and Team Magic.

"What was that?" Crow asked frantically.

"Where's Jack?" Leo asked.

"I think he screamed!" Akiza replied.

"Let's go find him!" Luna said. And they all dashed out the door.

Along the way, they ran into Team Magic, a group with the member Jaden, Syrus, Chazz, Alexis, and Zane.

"Hey, watch it!" Chazz shouted.

"There's no time to argue!" Jaden said. "Where's Jack?"

"We're going to go find him now." Crow said.

"Then let's go!" Alexis said.

"Right!"

Jack could only stare at his friend. He panted in fear and exhaustion. His right eye's vision was still good enough. So he was even more horrified when Yusei held Jack's eye up to his own.

"Hm, violet. Interesting." The duelist said. He walked over to Jack's side (His left) once again and crouched down so his head was next to Jack's. "You _will not_ tell anyone of our meeting, or else," He chuckled darkly. "Carly's going to pay the price."

"No!"

"Yes. Now, if you are a good little boy and listen to my commands, your girlfriend will be spared."

Knowing that Jack couldn't stand anymore torture, Yusei decided to break him completely. So, he held the eyeball to his open mouth, rolled it in with his tongue, and swallowed it, quite loudly for that matter. He licked his lips at an unnecessary volume as well. He wanted to make sure Jack heard _everything_.

And he did. Jack stared in shock at the black hallway in front of him. He couldn't take this anymore.

"I'm satisfied. Remember, my child, your beloved will pay if you misbehave. Heh heh heh heh heh..." And Yusei walked away. But not before whispering something into the blonde's ear. "That's what I am to be addressed as. I know they will ask…"

Jack's heard was pounding and an unusually rapid rate. Even a Chain would think it was extremely and dangerously abnormal. There was a bathroom nearby, so he dashed in and looked at the mirror.

He stared intently at his own reflection. His clothes were dyed red from his blood, so it looked as if someone had almost murdered him. An immense amount of blood splattered into the sink but mostly onto his jacket as he removed his hand. He gasped. For where his eye was supposed to be, there was an empty socket. It was a black void with crimson liquid streaming out of it like a waterfall.

And Jack screamed. He screamed and screamed and screamed. As he blinked, his left eyelid did not close. He shook his head rapidly, hoping the night's events were but a dream. And when he looked into the mirror again, he saw Teams 5Ds and Magic behind him. He lost all control in his body and collapsed into his friends' arms.

"Jack!" Crow called.

"What happened to you?" Zane asked.

"Who did this to you?" Carly, who had also been awoken by Jack's scream, asked.

Jack, with his left eye hidden by a short mass of hair that had oh so conveniently fell and his right eye glancing around furiously, began to stutter. "It-it-it w-was-"

"Who?" They all asked at once.

"A-A-Amber-Eyed Cobalt!" And Jack fainted.

\(-{:*:}-)/

**Wow, this chapter was fast! I can't believe I did this in one freaking day! That's a personal record for me. Well? Surprised? It turns out this was all Yusei's doing the whole time! And this was by his own will! Aren't I full of surprises! Also, the group doesn't know about Yusei or Jack's missing eye. But they'll find out soon enough. They always do. R&R please!**

**AshxGlace4EVER - Thinks First, Acts Beforehand**


	6. Race Toward the Ticking Clock

**Guess what every peoples? It's Chapter VI of Amber-Eyed Cobalt! In the last chapter, Yusei reveals himself as the murderer who had been committing those horrendous deeds. He threatens Jack by saying he'll kill Carly if the blonde lets out their little secret, therefore 'sealing a contract' with him. But not before stealing –and ultimately eating- Jack's left eye. What's worse, Jack was losing sight in his right eye! How will he alarm his friends of their doom if by doing so, he'll lose the one he loves?**

**Amber-Eyed Cobalt**

**Chapter VI: The Piano Prodigy**

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Relax. He'll be fine. He's knocked out, so there's no way he'd shock himself."

"Hey guys! Yusei, Akiza, wait!"

"What Leo?"

"He's waking up!"

"Shh, be quiet!"

"W-what…happened?"

Jack's eye immediately shut due to the brightness of the room light. He tried again, this time managing to keep them open.

"Hey Jack, are you all right?" Yusei asked in concern.

Jack's heart skipped about ten beats he was so shocked. _Just keep cool Jack._ He thought. _Or else Carly will pay for your mistake._

"Where am I?" Jack asked. His hair was still over his left eye socket. He also realized someone took off his jacket.

"You're in my house." Ryou replied. (I know Ryou has an apartment, but now he has a house in the city, tucked away in a run-down part of town.)

"I thought you left earlier." Jack said.

"I did." Ryou responded. "Yusei and his friends came knocking on my door. Bakura almost told them to get lost, but once he saw you in their arms soaked with blood, he hastened them into the living room."

"He's not lying." Bakura said as he walked up behind his hikari. "Once I took a glance at you, I stopped in mid-sentence and said 'What are you dolts standing around for? Bring him in and set him on the couch!' I was so alarmed."

"But the funny thing was, we couldn't find any injuries." Yami said.

"Yusei had resorted to dumping water on you to make you wake up." Leo laughed. "Am I glad he didn't! He'd be fried chicken after that!"

"Did someone say chicken?" Marik asked as he poked his barbecue sauce-covered head out of the kitchen entryway.

"It was a figure of speech, Marik." Malik sighed at the stupidity of his yami.

"Come on Jack." Ryou held out his hand. "I'll lead you to the bathroom so you can wash yourself off."

"Okay." Jack replied. "Thank you Ryou."

With the white-haired teen's help, Jack stood up and walked down the hallway.

"Oh, and I would suggest washing your hair thoroughly." Ryou advised. "It's very sticky from the blood, and a little bit of it is covering up your left eye."

Jack stopped as he remembered the previous night. He shook his head and kept walking. He felt a tug on his arm as Ryou turned down another hallway.

"Jack, where are you going?" Ryou inquired.

"What? Oh, sorry about that."

"Jack, can you see all right?" Ryou asked. "Your eye looked a bit blurry when you woke up."

"How long have I been asleep?" Jack asked.

"Three days." Ryou responded.

"Three days!" Jack exclaimed. He shook his head. "As an answer to your earlier question, no. My sight isn't all it used to be. No not at all."

"How so?" Ryou interrogated.

Jack glanced around, not like it would do much good. "Can you keep a secret?"

Ryou nodded. "Yes."

Jack sighed. "Three nights ago, I heard some screams, so I went out in the halls to investigate. That's where I met the murderer. I was shocked by who it was."

"Who was it?" Ryou asked.

"I can't tell." Jack replied.

"Why not?"

"He said he'd kill Carly if I did."

"How cruel!" Ryou cried.

"I know. Anyway, he managed to-" Jack stopped mid-sentence.

"He managed to what?" Ryou inquired.

"I, I can't say." Jack gasped. "The more I think about it, the worse I feel. One thing I can say though is that I'm losing sight in my right eye."

"Oh, okay." Ryou said. "Here, I'll let you wash off. I managed to clean your jacket while you were knocked out. Believe me when I say it was hard."

"Thank you Ryou." Jack bowed. "I might be a little bit, so you can go on back if you like."

"No, not if you want to get lost in these hallways." Ryou said. "I'll wait for you outside the door."

"Very well."

Jack staggered into the room, closing the door behind him. This room had black walls and a marble sink, so Jack was able to see it from the great contrast. He turned on the faucet to where it ran fairly warm water. He cupped his hands and filled them with the water. Jack then splashed the water onto his face, making sure he rinsed his hair well. Once he was sure he did so, he looked into the mirror the best he could. He could still see it clearly. His lost eye was the only thing that truly stood out. Jack began to recall an event in which occurred three nights ago.

*Flashback*

_"Then why them?" Jack asked. "If you wanted to punish someone, why not do it directly? Go ahead and kill me now! Satisfy your hunger for revenge with me! Not your friends! They had no part in this! It was all my doing!"_

_Yusei laughed in amusement. "No, I won't do that. Not just yet." He walked closer to his friend. He pressed on Jack's shoulder with his fingertips. Jack immediately gave in and got on his hands and knees. Yusei then knelt down by his friend's side and began to whisper in his ear. "I was given this power by a wonderful cat by the name of Tigerclaw. No, he isn't controlling me. I'm doing this by my own free will. I would also like to inform you that I've already eaten the other dueling teams. Oh, and I __completely__ finished them this time. Of course, I couldn't get to Teams Kulra, Flash Dragon, and Sennen." He once again stepped in front of Jack and, using a clawed hand, did something horrible. He slashed at the left side of Jack's face. But he didn't just claw at his eye._

_He flawlessly pulled it out._

_No scratches. You couldn't even tell he had pulled it out. The only thing remaining was five horizontal claw marks across Jack's face, similar to those on Glace's face. It had all happened so quickly. Just as it had been done, Jack immediately pulled his left hand to where his right eye would be, covering it and in the process covering his hand with his own blood, and screamed._

_Jack could only stare at his friend. He panted in fear and exhaustion. His right eye's vision was still good enough. So he was even more horrified when Yusei held Jack's eye up to his own._

_"Hm, violet. Interesting." The duelist said. He walked over to Jack's side (His left) once again and crouched down so his head was next to Jack's. "You __will not__ tell anyone of our meeting, or else," He chuckled darkly. "Carly's going to pay the price."_

_"No!"_

_"Yes. Now, if you are a good little boy and listen to my commands, your girlfriend will be spared."_

_Knowing that Jack couldn't stand anymore torture, Yusei decided to break him completely. So, he held the eyeball to his open mouth, rolled it in with his tongue, and swallowed it, quite loudly for that matter. He licked his lips at an unnecessary volume as well. He wanted to make sure Jack heard __everything__._

_And he did. Jack stared in shock at the black hallway in front of him. He couldn't take this anymore._

_"I'm satisfied. Remember, my child, your beloved will pay if you misbehave. Heh heh heh heh heh..." And Yusei walked away. But not before whispering something into the blonde's ear. "That's what I am to be addressed as. I know they will ask…"_

*End of Flashback*

Jack kept staring into the mirror. He raised a shaky hand to his face. The blonde held two fingers with his thumb, leaving only his index and middle finger. He then, though loath to do it, stuck those two fingers into his left eye socket. It wasn't very far. They would've just been scraping his eye if it was still there.

Jack then did something he didn't do often. He slipped his hand behind his hair so it was touching the back of his neck. The violet-eyed duelist then lifted his hand up, dragging some of his hair with it. It took a minute, but eventually, a long braid fell behind Jack's back. There was a band clasped around the near end of it, causing it to divert into two smaller strips. This part was lying on the floor. He smiled.

_I'm glad no one noticed that. If someone did, then I'd have much more explaining to do than I already have!_

The blonde heard footsteps fading in the hallway.

Jack grabbed part of his braid and held it in his hand. He twirled it around a bit like a ribbon. He smiled again and tucked the braid back underneath his shirt. As it reached his waist, Jack began to tie it as if it were some sort of belt.

There was the sound of footsteps running toward the door.

A knock. "Jack, may I come in?"

"Yes Ryou."

Ryou turned the doorknob and walked inside. "Here you go Jack." The British duelist said as he held out Jack's coat.

"Thank you Ryou." Jack said as he took his coat. He slipped it on with ease as he had done so many times before.

"It seems you did a nice job." Ryou complimented. "Not a smear of blood in sight. But, aren't you going to move your hair? It's right in front of your eye."

"It's fine." The violet-eyed duelist replied. "It would be useless to do so anyway."

"Oh, would it now?" The white-haired duelist shrugged and led Jack down the hallway. _I wonder why._

As the two boys entered the room in which everyone was chattering noisily, the talking silenced to whispers. Jack and Ryou walked straight to the door that led outside in the cold Winter night.

"Where are you two going?" Luna asked.

"Outside." Ryou replied. "Where does it look like we're going?"

"Satan's house." Marik answered unnecessarily.

"Why?" Akiza inquired.

"We're allowed to go wherever we please, are we not?" Jack replied.

"Whatever." The psychic duelist rolled her eyes.

"Hey Yusei."

Yusei turned his head.

"When I get back," Jack began, "I'm going to kill you."

"Why?" Yusei asked, hinting a tone that meant 'Say goodbye to Carly'.

"For trying to dump water on me." Jack replied, a goofy, smart-alec type of grin plastered on his face.

Everyone laughed.

Ryou and Jack walked out the door and trotted down the sidewalk. They turned and walked down a bit farther until Ryou came to a stop. Jack halted as well.

"Here's your duel runner." Ryou said as he pulled the vehicle out from behind some plants. "I know most people didn't come down here, but just to be safe, I hid it for you."

"Thanks." Jack said as he took the helmet from the younger boy. "Say, did Yusei know where this was?"

"No. Honestly, I can't trust him that much. That's probably from me hanging out with Glace all the time."

"Is she back at the Satellite?"

"Nope. Actually, she's sleeping in one of the rooms upstairs. She and my yami are the only ones who know about this."

"Okay then."

"Scratch that Ryou." Glace smirked. "I'm right here. Bakura came up to get me. He told me where he thought you two were going, so I went here."

"It's good to see you again." Jack smirked.

"You too Jacky-boo." Glace winked as Jack and Ryou sweatdropped. "Heh, that rhymes. Sweet!"

"Hey Glace, are you sure Jack should be riding his duel runner?" Ryou asked. "He said his sight's nothing like usual."

"Really?" Glace asked. "Well, that's not good, now is it?" She walked up to Jack, who immediately bent down to hear what she had to say.

"You're crazy!" Jack gawked. "You know perfectly well that you're the only one who can do that!"

"Well maybe you can too."

"And what if I can't?"

"Just try it."

"Fine."

"And I _will _say I told you so." Glace said with pride. "Now get going. Ryou, you go back there and tell the others that I'm leaving. I'll go with Jack back to the Satellite. Oh, and don't stop them if they try to follow us. Deal?"

"Okay." The boys said in unison. Ryou ran off in the direction he had come.

"The water's frozen over, and that's how I got here, so it should be sturdy enough to- hey!" Glace had stopped at the sight of white stuff falling from the sky.

"You're not going to start screaming that the sky is falling, are you?" Jack asked the female tween.

"No, of course not! I know it's just snow, but it's snowing! Iz da snow!" Glace exclaimed as she fell onto the solid concrete. She held a hand up. "I'm okay!"

"Oh Ra." Jack sighed. "Come on Glace. Maybe by the time we get back to Satellite, there will be enough snow to play in."

"Yay!"

\(-{:*:}-)/

"They _WHAT_?"

Yusei leaped up from his chair. "How could they just leave without telling us like that?"

"Yusei, maybe they wanted to have a little time to themselves." Akiza said as she held the duelist's arm. She turned to Bakura. "By the way, they Jack and Glace seem to know each other very well. What's their relationship?"

"Those two are cousins." Bakura replied. "They've been through thick and thin and rarely have any conflicts between the two that do real damage. They stick together like glue."

"I didn't know Jack had a cousin." Leo said.

"He doesn't have _a_ cousin." Yugi corrected. "He has _three_."

"THREE?"

"Yeah." Malik said. "Silver and Jack never got along that well. He and Nemesis didn't really talk."

"Still, I'm not sure why Jack would want to go to Satellite." Luna remarked. "It just seems funny to me."

"I bet they want us to follow them." Yami answered, deep in thought. "If I know what the pyramids were made out of, then that's their plan."

"But how are we going to catch them?" Akiza asked. "Jack and Glace are bound to be long gone by now."

"Not necessarily." Ryou smiled. "They're probably waiting for you at the bridge."

"You think?" Yusei asked.

"Of course." Bakura replied. "Hey, look! It's a snowstorm!"

"You won't want to keep them waiting." Yugi said, gesturing to the door. "It's gonna get _really_ cold out, so you'd better hurry if you want to catch them."

"We'll be right behind you." Marik giggled.

"Okay then. Guys, let's go!" Yusei yelled.

"Yeah!"

\(-{:*:}-)/

"As cold as it is now," Jack said, "I can't feel a thing."

Jack and Glace had their duel runners parked alongside the railing. The two duelists were leaning over that same railing, admiring the scenery. Already the snow had piled up to three inches in a matter of minutes. It was now beginning to obscure sight of the runners. Glace was wearing her 'riding uniform', which consisted of silvery white leather with a collar and (Probably) sapphire pads on her shoulders, knees, elbows, and on her chest. Atop the shoulder pads were rigid sapphire spikes (You know, like when you first dig up a gemstone, how it's all rough at first).

"Are you really _that_ cold-hearted?" Glace teased.

"Oh, just shut up!" Jack laughed as he shoved her off the bridge. Glace screamed as she fell, but screamed louder when Jack caught her by the collar. He yanked the girl back onto the bridge.

"You're really light." Jack thought for a moment, then smirked. "Have you been smoking?"

"Oh you son of a-" Glace shook her head. "Son of a pickle you are a JERK!"

"I was kidding!"

"So was I!"

"What do you mean?"

"You're not a jerk." Glace replied. "I'm just trying to prove that you're awesome."

"Hey Glace. Where's your duel runner?" Jack asked.

"Oh, Ice Wolf? She's over there." Glace pointed to where she had parked her duel runner. Jack couldn't see it, but he knew it was there.

Glace's runner was different from others. It was carved completely out of silver, and the front, arms (The part riders hold on to when they ride), and back were made of diamonds. The wheels were made of sapphires. They were covered in spikes, probably for grappling to slick surfaces. It was probably functioned from electricity, but how exactly, no one knew.

Glace's ears perked a bit. She grinned. "They're here! They're here!" She yelled, jumping up and down excitedly.

"Okay Miss Kangaroo, settle down before I am forced to call Animal Control." Jack said. Glace immediately froze. _Get's her _every_ time._ He thought.

But before he knew it, Glace had already hopped onto her duel runner, ready to go.

"Hurry it up, Jackie-boo!" She called.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Jack replied as he too, prepared for the ride of his life.

"There they are!" Akiza cried.

"Hey!" Yusei called. "What are you guys doing out here?"

The two duelists turned, smirked, and drove…

Through the railing, straight off the bridge.

The group gasped at the sight. Yami, Yugi, Marik, Malik, Ryou and Bakura, who (Respectively) were riding crimson, light lavender, gold, bluish-violet, white and silver duel runners, rode up beside them.

"They're challenging you to a race." Bakura said. "Do you accept?"

"Do we have to ride on the ice?" Luna asked. She and Leo were on their duel boards.

"If you want to." Ryou replied.

"Hikaris against yamis!" Yugi cried as he rode off onto the ice.

"Teams." Yami said. "The yamis will be with you guys, while the hikaris will ride with Jack and Glace. There aren't any rules, so you can knock someone off their runner if you please. Just no friendly fire." (A/N: Yusei and Akiza are with the yamis, despite the fact that they too are hikaris.)

"Okay then. Let's go!" Yusei yelled over the raging blizzard and sped off onto the bridge. The others followed behind him. The hikaris rode off the bridge, following the other three.

Jack could barely see through the snow, yet he felt like he could do this with his eyes closed. Riding on the ice seemed like a breeze. He wasn't sure why, but all he knew was he was enjoying it. He could just barely see the lights of the opposing team.

Jack wasn't sure if it were because of the lightning flash directly in his face, or if it was caused by the snow in his face. He didn't care. He could tell where he was going and what was about to happen.

_I know this course._ He said. _And I know just what Glace plans on doing in a minute._

The blonde was right. Glace lifted her hand and a tunnel appeared in the ice. Jack swerved out of the way while the rest of the team, ducking of course, drove inside it. There were three routes, everyone taking a different one. Glace went in the right route, Yugi and Malik in the left, while Ryou drove into the center route.

'Hey Jack, can you hear me?' Glace said over the monitor.

"Yeah, loud and clear." Jack replied.

'Good. Do you see this light?' As she spoke, a beam of light shone up from the tunnel.

"Yes, I can see it perfectly."

'Okay, what I need you to do is to turn to the right of that light.'

"Got it." Jack said as he followed instructions. "How's that?"

'I'm assuming you listened to me, so I'd say that's just right.'

Glace and her duel runner blasted from another tunnel, probably the exit. The other hikaris followed. Glace drove up onto the bridge and howled.

"What was that?" Yusei asked, glancing around to find the source.

Glace howled again and rammed straight into Yusei's runner, nearly succeeding in knocking him off.

"What the-" Yusei was silenced by another bump to the side. He returned the hit, proceeding in blasting Glace off the bridge.

She slammed on the gas pedal and raced down the ice.

"Guys! We can't hold on much longer!" Ryou screamed as, he too, was forced back onto the ice by Bakura.

"Glace!" Yugi cried. "The road!"

"I hear ya!" Glace sped off and tried her best to lift Ice Wolf off of the slick surface. As she did, a nearly transparent road appeared in front of her. The other members of the team followed, and skyrocketed into the sky.

"This is awesome!" Malik yelled in excitement.

As the hikaris pressed on the gas pedal, they saw the Satellite dock. It was in plain sight. The opposing team saw it as well.

"There's the Satellite!" Leo cried. "We might just make it!"

But Leo was wrong. As the team approached the dock, they saw sparks exploding from the sky. Jack spun onto the dock, followed by Ryou and Yugi. They made a sharp stop, then rode off further into the white darkness. Malik seemed to be gliding across the sky, landing perfectly onto the dock, following the others.

Yusei took a glance to the right and saw Glace for a split second. She seemed to have merely disappeared in the blizzard. But there she was again, on the dock, bringing up the rear of the team.

It was obvious that Team Hikari had won.

\(-{:*:}-)/

"That was so much fun!" Luna and Leo cheered.

"See?" Glace poked her cousin's arm. "I told you so."

"Whatever." Jack rolled his eyes.

The groups (Now one) were walking toward Martha's house. The lights were on, so someone was still up.

They went up to the door. Jack grabbed the handle, but was flung into one side of the house by said door. The kids came storming out of the house, dog-piling on top of Glace.

"HEY!" A scream immediately sent the children back into the house, some staying outside to greet the other duelists. A very dirty-looking red-haired boy and girl rushed up to the near-suffocated tween. They helped her up and gave her a hug.

"It's been so long since we've seen you." The girl said.

"I know, I know." Glace replied.

"Hey Glace, who are they?" Leo asked. "I never saw them the first time we came here.

"Oh, this is my brother Silver and my sister Nemesis." Glace gestured to each respectively.

"So you're Jack's other cousins?" Akiza inquired.

"Yep." Nemesis replied. "Hey where's Jack?"

"Oh, he's over there." Yusei replied as he pointed to the door. It swung shut and Jack fell to the ground. Silver walked over to him.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, just fine."

Crow rolled his eyes at the blonde's statement. "Really? Are you?"

"Watch it, Birdbrain."

Everyone laughed.

Silver helped Jack to his feet, only to be hugged by Martha.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're okay." She said. "I was so worried about you, competing in that tournament with the murderer and all."

"Yeah, not the best time to be bringing that up, Martha." Glace said as she glanced around.

"You all must be hungry. Why don't you come inside for a little bit?" Martha suggested.

"Can we play for a little bit?" Nemesis asked. "At least until dinner's ready?"

"Oh, all right." Martha yielded. "I'll call for you when dinner's done so you can come inside. Just be careful!"

"We will!" The group called.

_Yeah right._ Jack thought. _When Glace is involved, we _always_ get rowdy._

"Hey guys!" Glace yelled. "There's something I want to show you!"

"Glace!"

As Glace was starting toward the woods behind the house, she was stopped by three approaching children.

Glace's eye sparkled. "Ryan! Morgan! Alexis! You're here!"

Out of the gray shadows emerged a boy and two girls.

The boy, Ryan, had amethyst-black eyes that were humorously eerie. His hair was true black on the left and snow white on the right. There were specks of the opposite color on each side.

The first girl, Morgan, had long brown hair similar to Glace's, only it was darker and neater. It was quite wavy, and seemed to be on fire. She was, surprisingly, wearing a flame-red dress. Her eyes were sparkling scarlet rubies in the gray powder sky.

The second girl, Alexis, had brown hair similar to Morgan's, only it was cut much shorter, only going as far as her shoulders. She was wearing a dress close to Morgan, only it was a grass green color. Emerald orbs glittered in the faint, obscured moonlight.

"How's Ice been?" Ryan poked Glace's side in a pestering sort of way.

"Oh, stop that Ryan!" Alexis commanded. "Isn't it obvious? Cirno can handle herself, so she's fine."

"HEY!" Glace roared. "Who, in the name of Ra, gave you permission to call me Cirno?"

"Um, I'm pretty sure she did." Morgan said, gesturing toward Alexis.

Everyone laughed, including Glace.

"Okay, okay, can we all shut up and return to the point in mind?" Jack asked, wearing that same grin from before.

"Sure, whatever." Glace sighed. "Follow me." She and her friends began to walk in the direction Morgan, Alexis and Ryan had come.

The group kept walking until they came upon an enormous tree. Its branches were oddly shaped and positioned as if they were the hands of a clock. The roman numerals one through twelve were encircled on said tree. Seemingly connected to the trunk was a small lake. It was crystal clear and looked abnormally deep.

"Wow! This is so cool!" Leo exclaimed.

"I know, isn't it?" Glace grinned with pride. She turned to Jack. "Tell me you remember this place."

"I think I do." Jack replied. He froze. Yes, he recognized the scene. _And if my hunch is correct, then this must be…_

"Jack!"

"Yes Glace?"

"Come here for a minute."

The best he could, Jack steadily walked over to where Glace was standing. She was right in front of the lake. It was frozen over, and the ice glistened in the extremely faint moonlight.

"You want me to walk on that, don't you?" He asked.

"Yep."

Jack shuddered, not visibly, but shuddered. He hated cold, deep water. And Glace was quite aware of that.

"Oh, and Jack." Glace tapped his shoulder.

"Yes?"

"I'm not gonna scream that you're Jesus once you get on that."

Everyone laughed. Even Jack himself had to chuckle at his cousin's remark.

Without warning, Glace darted forward, screamed a word unfamiliar to most others, and slammed against the tree. The bark flipped up and she went inside.

Jack began to tread onto the ice. His one eye closed, he made his way to the tree trunk. He whispered the same word, and the bark flipped up.

"Morgan, Alexis, can you handle it from here?" Jack asked.

"Yes, we can." Morgan replied.

"Hurry up Jack!" Glace called. "It's hard to keep myself up!"

"Alright! Alright! I'm coming!" Jack quickly slipped into the trunk. He immediately felt his body falling.

_Remember, this tree is much bigger than it seems. _Jack said to himself. _Just thinks of it as the Scarlet Devil Manor. Wait, Scarlet Devil Manor? What's that?_

He hit the floor, then quickly rolled out of the way. If he didn't, chances are he'd be crushed by the others when they came down.

The others soon followed. And just like Jack predicted, they came crashing on top of one another.

"Owowowowowowowow!" Leo screamed. He was at the very bottom of the pile.

"Ouch!" Yugi yelped. "Whose spine did I land on anyhow?"

"Mine." Yusei's muffled voice groaned. _That Yugi kid's next on my hit list. He's gonna get it, for sure._

_Serves him right._ Jack thought.

The inside of the tree was _much_ bigger than it looked on the outside. In fact, the inside didn't even look like a tree. The walls and floors were covered in a thick layer of different gemstones. There were doors and hallways that led to even more doors. It was quite impressive.

While everyone awed in astonishment, Jack walked over to an oddly shaped wall. There were grooves cut into it, and parts of it were raised a bit. He began to move his fingers as if he were playing a piano. It sounded like it too. No one noticed him or the magnificent melody that echoed off the walls.

"Hey, where's that sound coming from?" Kaiba asked.

Everyone turned to Jack, who immediately stopped and stood up before they noticed.

"What sound?" Jack asked. "I didn't hear anything." _Those guys need to earn the privilege to know I'm the piano prodigy in this family._

"Hm, oh well."

"Oh, hey guys." Glace waved her hand. Morgan, Alexis, Ash, Ryan, Silver and Nemesis all came over to her. They lined up where everyone could see them. They took a deep breath and cupped their hands as if they were going to shout.

3…

2…

1…

_Ding, dong. Ding, dong._ A clock toll was heard. It was coming from the oddly shaped tree. In truth, which everyone figures out now, the entire tree was also a big clock.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

It was midnight, and it was also Christmas day.

\(-{:*:}-)/

**MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! I hope everyone has a great one. Dang it, I was trying to do something and it didn't work, but whatever. I might do a New Year's video speedpaint, so if anything, I hope to get that done. BTW, longest chappie so far! Over 5,000 words in thins one! Gotta go, so see ya!**

**_AshxGlace4EVER - Thinks First, Acts Beforehand_  
**


	7. Hesitation Will Stalk the Night

**Hey everybody, it's AshxGlace4EVER! In the last episode, Jack and Glace challenge the others to a race from New Domino City to the Satellite. Team Yami treks the bridge while Team Hikari conquers not only the ice, but the race as well. Glace rejoined with her friends Morgan, Alexis, and Ryan while at the same time beginning a tour of the mysterious tree. With Jack being a piano prodigy and Yusei's hunger clawing at him, what will happen next? Find out in Chapter VII of Amber-Eyed Cobalt!**

**Disclaimer: AshxGlace4EVER doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds, Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon or anything else that doesn't belong to her. She only owns Glace, Morgan, Alexis, Ryan, and some of the yamis. And maybe even some other characters. Because if she did, then the storylines never would've been like they are now, and chances are they never would've been finished.**

**P.S. The lines I used at the beginning were partially from a YouTuber by the name of Chuggaconroy. Praise him so, if you'd please.**

**P.P.S. Echo is owned by Hysterical Insanity. Read her fanfics! Echo is in Quick Silver, but she doesn't play the same role as she does in that. I have a reason, and you'll find out at the near end of this story. Now then, on with the show!**

**P.P.P.S. Okay, I'm really sorry I haven't updated in like FOREVER! But for one thing, I've been busy. For another, I have been suffering from a serious case of Writer's Block. Yeah, that long. I know, outrageous huh? Excuse #3: I currently have extremely limited access to the internet and programs on my computer. I have therefore been forced to use my iBook G4, which really sucks. We've been getting along pretty well though, so I can't complain. Heck, this is better than usual, so I'm pretty grateful. I even recently found a typing program that I can effectively use for my fics. Anyway, enough of my ramblings! Now on with the show! For real this time!**

**Amber-Eyed Cobalt**

**Chapter VII: Hesitation Will Stalk the Night**

"This is the library." Glace gestured. She had shown them their own rooms, which had been locked up until now. Each room fit each owner's personality perfectly. It was amazing what this tree could do.

Now, everyone was gawking at the mere size of the library. It must've been as big as the Brooklyn Public Library (That's what Joey said). There were so many books Luna almost fainted. She loved to read, so she had a feeling she'd like this place.

"Then there's this big room that we've been forced to call the cafeteria." Glace sighed. She honestly didn't want to call it that.

But it fit. No one could really think of anything else to call it. There were many tables made out of what seemed like amethyst, topaz, sapphire, emeral, and ruby, not to mention a pair of swinging doors. Leo came to the conclusion that they led to the kitchen. Someone moved inside.

"There are some other places here, but I want to show you one in particular." Glace grinned and glanced at Jack. He had an idea where they were going.

"After that, we'll show you one more room then save the rest for later." Ryan spoke for possibly the first time since they'd stepped inside the tree.

"Honestly, I've no idea how this is here, but it is." The group stopped inside a room that had many buttons, gears, and levers. There was also an open area with different tools and other things.

"This is the Control Room." Morgan said. "We have to do a bit of work in here every now and again, but yeah."

"This is also where we work on our duel runners." Ash said.

"I'm gonna need to learn to use this stuff." Yusei stated.

"There's one more room." Bakura smirked.

The group walked down a hallway, then stopped at a door.

"Step back guys." Glace warned. "Well, except for Jack. You stay where you are."

Jack was quite close to the room's entrance.

Glace stepped inside.

_What's she doing in there? _Luna wondered as she heard the sound of various banging and crashing.

Silence once again. Everyone waited, nearly holding their breaths.

A gun shot.

Jack fell to the floor, blood beginning to pour out of his chest. Glace walked out of the room holding a recently fired revolver. Everyone gasped, and Glace put up her hands.

"Relax you guys." She laughed. "Jack's not dead. I mean sure I _did_ shoot his heart, but he's perfectly fine!"

As if on cue, Jack began to laugh. He stood up and snapped his fingers.

"She's right." The blonde said. "If any of us were to get shot, we'd live. Trust me."

"Now then, follow me." Glace stopped at the sound of running footsteps. No one had moved yet, so it had to be Taka's feet as he ran up to Alexis.

"Hey Taka!" Alexis smiled. "Where've you been?" She kissed him on the cheek.

"I was waiting inside." Taka replied. "But hey…" He began to whisper in the female duelist's ear. She nodded as he talked.

"Oh, okay." She sighed. "Thanks Taka."

"No problem!" And Taka ran off.

"Hey Glace. It's time to eat." Alexis relayed the message.

"Aw, I was just getting to the good part!" Glace whined. She sighed. "Oh well. We can play after dinner, so come on!" She raced back the way she came.

"Wait up!"

\(-{:*:}-)/

"If there's one thing I'll never get sick of, it's Martha's cooking!"

Glace licked her lips in agreement. "That's the first intelligent thing I've heard from you all day, Crow!"

Crow growled. "You'd better be quiet, or else the murderer will swallow you whole!"

The tween (Pre-teen, for those of you who didn't know) wrinkled her nose. "That's disgusting!"

_Okay, maybe I'll have Yugi for a snack, then I'll show Crow just _what_ that feels like. _Yusei thought, nodding with each seemingly well-thought idea.

"Hey guys, wanna sleep in the Treehouse tonight?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah! It'll be like a sleepover!" Alexis added.

"No. Freaking. Dip. Lexi." Morgan facepalmed.

"Well, although the invite _was_ pretty random, I'd say it's okay." Luna smiled. As long as she was comfortable, the lunar child was perfectly fine.

"Well then, what are we all standing around for?" Glace was obviously in a hurry. "Let's go!" She dashed away.

"Ra… Glace! Get back here!" Jack screamed as he hounded after his cousin.

"Jack, hold up!" Yusei called as he followed after his friend. The others came after him.

As the young girl dove into the entrance, Jack knew it would lock again once it stopped spinning. So, he took a deep breath, and screamed.

"Andate!" (A/N This is not a real Japanese word, but if you listen to the song _Preparation_ from the anime _Pandora Hearts_, you'll know what word I'm talking about.)

The door flipped open. Jack slipped through the space on his knees, landing on his feet and leaping out of the way. Same as before, everyone else fell on top of each other.

"Okay, girls sleep in one room. Boys sleep in another." Glace declared.

"Um…" The boys were hesitant. Well, except for Jack, of course.

"Well, I'm gonna get changed, so I'll see you guys later." Crow yawned, trying to take off his pants and walk at the same time. Glace nearly died from laughing too hard. It was the same with every other girl who saw Crow's underwear (Pink duel runners and blackbirds, thank you Hysterical Insanity). The boys couldn't resist either. Apparently, Crow hadn't noticed anything. He kept walking down the hallway. He stopped abruptly.

"Uh, where do I go again?" The orange-haired duelist asked.

"I'll take him." Ryan sighed as he humbly offered to do the task he was loath to complete. He grabbed Crow's wrist and began quickly walking down the hallway.

Glace was still trying to stifle her laughs (And was failing miserably I might add) when Jack loomed behind her.

…Well, not exactly.

To tell you the truth, Glace came up to Jack's shoulder. Very impressive for an eleven-year-old girl.

Jack slapped the girl upside the head. She fell to the floor, face first.

Glace looked up at her cousin. She smiled. "Thanks Jack!" She said.

Ash held up his hand, pointed his index finger, and spun his hand around.

"Boys, follow me." The jet-haired teen began to walk in the same direction Ryan and Crow went. Each of the boys followed behind in-step.

Ryou was pulled away from the group. He turned his head to stare into the Egyptian eyes of Malik Ishtar.

"Personally, I consider us girls, so let's go." Malik grinned. Ryou facepalmed. He unwillingly let himself be guided by the Egyptian boy to the group of girls.

"Hey Glace." Leo tugged at the female's shirt. "Can I sleep with my sister?"

Glace shrugged. "Sure, why not?" She grabbed his wrist and ran off.

\(-{:*:}-)/

"Do you really mean that?" Crow asked, his voice full of excitement.

"Yeah, I'm serious." Ash replied.

The boys were sleeping in the 'cafeteria'.

Therefore, the boys had access to _everything_ that is food in the Treehouse.

Jack could only say that chaos would ensue. With the prediction in-mind, he left, not wanting to be caught in the middle of a future food-fight.

The blonde knew every inch of this tree. There wasn't much of it he was vaguely familiar with. Therefore he was able to navigate through it easily, and soon enough ended up at the front of it. The blonde shook his head as he once again trekked onto the ice. He began climbing the 'clock tower' and reached a thick, outstretched branch. Pulling himself up, Jack leaned against the trunk, perched on the thick limb of the tree.

The half-blind duelist glanced at the frozen lake.

_No, it isn't frozen._ Jack thought. _No one else saw it, but I know it for sure. Glace had to have done it while she was out of sight. She was relatively close to the water, so she must've been freezing it from the inside. Therefore, she was able to make it strong enough for the ice to last until now. She knew I would come out tonight._

Jack, of course, also knew there was another way of getting up here. Chances are, Glace would come up that way.

_Well, unless of course Nine* decides to magically become Jesus._

"I thought I'd find you here."

It wasn't Glace. She'd come out at three o'clock. It was only one thirty. Yusei purred as he completed his ascent. As the amber-eyed cobalt duelist approached, he snuggled against Jack's side.

"Get off me." The blonde attempted to pry the other away from him, but to no avail. Yusei was practically clinging to Jack, and he couldn't do anything about it.

Okay, so there_ was_ something he could do about it.

Jack sighed, then electrocuted himself along with Yusei. He merely flinched, but Yusei nearly fell off of his supporting branch. The violet-eyed duelist caught him before he collapsed completely. Yusei purred in response and crawled up the other's arm.

Jack could only sigh. There was nothing he could do about it now, so he just sat there is silence. About five minutes had passed and Jack let out a yelp. He clenched his arm and saw it bleeding.

"Darn." Yusei mumbled. "Missed the vein."

"You were doing what?"

"Nothing!"

"Get your feline fanny out of here!"

"Shut up, sissy!"

"I'll blast you again!"

"I'll swallow you whole!"

Dead silence. Jack didn't dare to counter that. He didn't move or speak. He didn't seem to be even breathing. He just turned his head and looked on at the moon. It was full, but still it seemed larger than usual. This was his sign of defeat.

Yusei saw it, but he also saw it as something else. And if Jack had realized this sooner, a catastrophe would've been avoided. That's because Yusei saw it…

As a chance to attack.

Yusei lunged toward the unsuspecting duelist. He was, by all means, ready to finish that boy off.

_He's such a nuisance. Besides, that way no one will find out about my little secret._

Jack, however, had other plans. He had felt when the amber-eyed cobalt teen stepped back a touch to have a more accurate strike. Therefore, the half-blind duelist was able to slide off the branch just in time.

"No one escapes their doom!" Yusei cried as he launched himself off the branch.

Since Yusei had pushed off the tree with much force while Jack had merely jumped, the humanoid cat was able to catch up with him easily. Yusei sank his claws into the spot just underneath Jack's collar bone and close to his shoulders. He screamed as the black-haired teen ripped his chest open, creating a gash that went from the blonde's collar bone to a few inched below his ribs. Blood rushed out of Jack's body as he crashed into the water's icy depths. Yusei had let go of him and dashed away.

_Heh, he'll die in there before anyone even suspects he had left. _The teen thought._ Besides, I got something I'm quite proud of. Too bad it's vital for Jack's survival. Not even Glace can save him now! Ahahahaha!_

This right here is where Yusei was wrong.

Glace had decided to come out a bit early tonight, hoping to catch her cousin before his impatience got the best of him.

As she approached, she heard what she thought were threats. _Jack? Maybe Yusei? _The tween thought. Glace had come out while Jack and Yusei had been arguing, as you can see. She moved a little closer to see what was going on.

"I'll swallow you whole!"

_That was…_ Glace shook her head in tentative denial, but she saw his lips move. Sure, it was a silhouette, but she knew it was Yusei who spoke. But rather than running away to tell everyone else, Glace smirked. _Heh, never knew Yusei had a cat tail and ears. This could get interesting._

Glace now knew who the murderer was. She could go and warn the girls of Yusei's secret, but she decided against it. Thankfully, the slight breeze she was facing was enough to keep her unnoticed.

Her attention returning to the abnormal scene taking place, Glace nearly screamed as Jack fell off the branch he was resting on. She nearly tackled Yusei when he pounced off the branch. Glace moved closer since she wouldn't get caught in the least. The once over-excited tween was on the verge of crying in sheer terror as Yusei began to, well, you know what I mean.

As Jack fell into the lake and Yusei took off, Glace caught a glimpse of just _what_ Yusei had struck. She could tell by the prideful look on his face that he was positive he had killed Jack for good.

_How pitiful._ Glace thought as the jet-haired teen dashed away. _Signers would usually be killed by a catastrophe such as this, but that just goes to show how special Jack truly is. Besides, I saw the whole thing, and I _can_ help, Yusei. You haven't won quite just yet._

The girl dove into the lake, oblivious to its temperature. She coughed and glanced around frantically.

_This lake is stained with Jack's blood._ Glace thought. _Not polluted. Merely stained. No matter. I can fix that. But first, I need to find Jack._

Glace closed her eyes, and a blue version of just about everything appeared before her. Why is this? It's because Glace Hydro just so happens to be able to see aura. A different colored glow emanated from the lake floor. This light was dim, but powerful as well. Its color…

Just so happened to be a mix of black overpowered by white, which both colors were dominated by a soft violet.

Glace recognized that aura anywhere. As she touched the sparkling floor glowing with a crimson light, Glace felt her arm brush another.

Ryan squeezed her hand as they lifted Jack's seemingly lifeless body in their arms. The female tween felt a tap on her shoulder.

"I'll take over." Silver said. Glace nodded and darted toward the surface.

_Man, I love my friends._ She thought. _I'm glad I gave them one of my abilities. I can only choose one, and being able to breathe and talk underwater was the best choice._

Glace leaped out of the water onto the surface, soaking wet with water. Her main abilities focused around water, so this next part would be a piece of cake.

She focused on the blood in the water. With a few graceful movements of her hands, the red swirled into the middle of the lake.

Just in time too.

Ryan and Silver emerged from the cold water, Jack still in their arms. He was surprisingly light, even out of water. They lifted him up onto dry land, and Glace continued. She raised her hands just slightly, and began directing the blood back into Jack's body. The three already knew he'd be just fine. Would Glace be okay? They weren't sure.

Glace wasn't used to doing something like that. Therefore, she collapsed in exhaustion. Ryan darted in her direction and caught her in his arms. Glace laughed halfheartedly.

"I…I hate doing that." She chuckled.

"Glace!"

Luna and Leo came rushing toward the tweens (Ryan is eleven and Silver is twelve). They were gasping for breath by the time they reached them.

Luna gasped. "What happened to Jack?" She asked.

"Glace is the only one who truly knows, but let's just say Ryan and I found him at the bottom of the lake." Silver replied.

"Seriously? That's awful!" Leo said.

"AHHH!"

The five kids stared toward the forest, where Carly was standing in shock. No one had known she was here in the first place.

"Jack…He's…He's…!"

"He's fine." Glace rasped. "Jackie should be up and moving in no time at all."

"You mean once we get him to a doctor." Akiza corrected as she walked up from behind Carly.

"Yeah, whatever."

"Glace!" Alexis cried as she came up to the other female.

"Don' worry 'lexis. I'll be fine."

"Where's sis'?" Nemesis growled. As she approached Carly (She had to walk up beside her), the two fell to their knees, clutching their arms in pain.

"Nemesis, what's going on?" Silver asked.

"I, I'm not sure." Nemesis replied.

The pain died away. Nemesis looked at her arm and gasped. Sliver looked at it and had the same reaction. For on the girls arm, were the wings of the time god Dialga. (A/N: Okay, Dialga and Palkia are really big in this. When I say 'wings' I mean the gray thing on Dialga's back. Having said that, you should know what I mean when I say 'wings of Palkia'.)

Carly stared at her own arm and saw the wings of Palkia, god of space.

Other boys and girls joined the crowd. Soon enough, everyone was asking what had happened. Glace could only glare at the bloodstained grass, furious at what her friend had done.

Two familiar-looking duel runners (One only to Glace) rode up beside the near chaos that was ensuing. One look and Glace's eyes lit up. She smiled weakly and stared at the duelists before her.

"Yo…Kalin."

The same reaction between Nemesis and Carly also took place between Kalin and Silver. Only this time, Silver had a rough outline of Dialga's head. Same thing with Kalin, only with Palkia's head.

"Wow. Glace what happened here?" The second arriving duelist asked.

"Oh, nothin' much." Glace laughed pitifully. She half-grinned. "But really. Is that how…You greet all of your…Friends…Echo?"

Echo sighed. "I'm not afraid to use that "Special Ability" you gave me."

"You wouldn't dare." Glace coughed. "Not right now. Besides, Silver gave it to you, not me."

"You're right on both accounts." Echo smiled. "I wouldn't."

"Hey! Look out!" Someone came screaming as he smashed into Echo. The girl growled quite loudly.

"Okay that's it!" Echo pointed to the one who had knocked her down, which she had no intention on looking to see who it was.

"Silver Draconic Blast!"

Bright silver light shot up into the ebony sky. It took the form of a snaking Chinese Dragon. The dragon roared and the ground shook. The silver beast then spiraled to the ground, plowing into a familiar-looking black-haired golden-striped teen.

Yusei cried out in pain as the dragon's attack hit. He was hurled back into the bark of a tree and almost knocked out cold. Akiza gasped and Glace glared.

"Yusei, are you all right?" The magenta-haired duelist cried.

"Y-yeah, I think so." Yusei moaned. Echo didn't say anything other than a sheepish "Sorry Yusei", given the look she had received from a very unhappy yet extremely overjoyed Glace.

"Get Yusei to a doctor already!" Crow screamed in frustration, not letting the fact that Echo and Kalin were there and Jack was also injured sink in. This earned him a smack to the back of the head from Silver, Nemesis, Carly, and Echo.

"Correction." Glace said with a broken grin. "Get _Jack_ to a doctor already."

"Why would I help a pompous smart-alek like him?" Crow argued. But Echo and Kalin had already carried Jack back to Martha's.

"You're the smart-alek, so shut up." Glace retorted. Ryan helped Glace back to the orphanage, while the rest of the now broken-up group followed, quietly chatting amongst themselves. Akiza took Yusei's hand and acted as his crutch.

The psychic duelist stared into her leader's eyes. She was entranced by their beautiful sheen. She couldn't take her own eyes off of them. Akiza had never really studies Yusei by looks, but that might change.

_Had there always been that speck of amber?_ Akiza asked herself. _I never noticed it before._

**_So, that's that! This is as much as I can do for awhile now. I'm afraid I'm gonna die for a bit, but I'll try to make a good comeback. So in the meantime, go ahead and read Chapter VIII as my treat to you!_**

**_AshxGlace4EVER ~ Thinks First, Acts Beforehand_**


	8. Who Was He? UN Owen

**Hey guys! I'm so sorry I haven't been updating for so long! In return, I decided to do TWO chapters today! Anyway, it's not because I'm lazy, it's simply because I can't. Something came up and, well, yeah. Don't be expecting me to update very often so yeah. I hope this is enough for you guys for now. I'll try and hurry up on the next chapters, so I'll see you guys then! Enjoy the show!**

**Amber-Eyed Cobalt**

**Chapter VIII: Who was He? U.N. Owen**

It had been an hour since Jack, Glace, and Yusei had been ushered into Doctor Schmidt's 'office'. The group (Now including the ones who were already in Satellite along with Echo and Kalin) is currently waiting for results. Martha and Schmidt emerged from the room in which the three were waiting to be released.

"How are they looking doc?" Crow asked.

The doctor sighed and Martha replied for him.

"Yusei should be just fine. He's a strong boy." The woman replied. "Though I'm concerned about Jack."

"What's his condition?" Echo asked.

"We're not sure yet." Doctor Schmidt replied. "All I can say at the moment is that something's either horribly wrong or merely messed up."

"And Glace?" Ryan questioned. "What about her?"

"She's just worn out." Martha replied with a relieving smile. "Though her body temperature is lower than normal, it's not enough to be worried about."

"Thank the Holy Lord and Great God Ra." Agony breathed. She and the 'Atenra Kin' as they were called (Minus Bakura and plus Steaden, Draken, and Blade) along with Kajenkt and Azekxia were eavesdropping behind a corner. They had refused to let themselves be seen by the adults. Steaden's facial expression mirrored relief while Draken was biting his tongue. He was nervous, and he wasn't going to get any accurate answers unless he asked Glace herself. Though he wanted to ask Jack, Draken didn't think his hikari desired to be questioned on the subject.

"What do you think?" Blade nudged Draken with a tremendous sword.

"Hm?" Draken cocked his head. Blade chuckled at his action.

"What do you think happened?" Blade repeated.

"Oh, I'm not sure." Draken replied.

"Heh, I wouldn't be surprised if Steaden's hikari ripped Jack's entiya chest!" Kajenkt smirked. "I mean, did ya see the size of dat gash? You'd have ta be viscous to do dat kinda damage."

"Shut it Kajenkt." Azekxia scolded.

"No, for once Kajenkt may have a point." Steaden said. "I'm not completely sure, but I feel like Yusei's up to something, and that feeling is one unlike any other I've experienced. It has me worried."

"And did you notice?" Agony asked. "When you guys got drunk the other night, there wasn't an attack!"

"Coincidence?" Draken grinned.

"I don't think so." Agony finished, crossing her arms followed by a smirk. Her expression changed to a seriousness only Agony Atenra could achieve.

Azekxia caught the look and the point. "But we cannot make any false accusations." She said.

The others nodded.

"We might as well take a look at Jack." Martha continued.

"You mean you haven't even checked out his condition?" Ash gawked.

"No, not quite yet." Doctor Schmidt replied. "We thought it might be best to wait for a minute before doing so. All we know currently is that of what is clearly visible."

"Then we will not keep you any longer." Yami said, gesturing toward the door. "We'll be waiting for news."

"I'll stay out here." Ryou said. "That way, I can pass on information easily."

"I'll sit here with you." Malik insisted. Marik and Bakura agreed.

The group dispersed, the mentioned hikaris and yamis staying behind.

Bakura whipped out his deck. "Wanna duel?"

Marik mirrored the movement. "I'll take you on!"

"Just no Shadow Magic you two." Ryou warned. The yamis nodded and began to duel on the floor.

Martha and Schmidt entered the room. Glace was curled up into a little ball with a blanket wrapped around her, asleep. She was also apparently humming the Gremlins Theme Song.

Yusei was asleep as well. He was resting in a chair in a position that could look comfortable or uncomfortable. It just depended on what aspect you saw it in.

Jack was lying on a table in the middle of the room. His coat was stained red once again, and it along with his shirt had an enormous rip in it. His chest had also started to bleed again, but since Jack was lying on his back, the blood merely pooled. If he moved in the slightest, the blood would trickle over his body. The duelist seemed to be in excruciating pain even though he wasn't moving at all. Martha stepped back a little.

"You do not need to help me if you don't want to." The doctor reassured her.

Martha nodded. "Do be careful."

"I will."

Schmidt slipped on a pair of gloves. He grabbed a large bowl and dipped it into Jack's chest. The bowl was filled with Jack's blood when the doctor took it out. He set it aside for later use. Now that most of Jack's blood was out of the way, Schmidt could get a closer look, but he would have to be quick. Martha walked up to the table to help out. The two gasped at what they saw.

Jack's rib cage was completely shattered. The fractured bones were scattered in various places. His spine had also snapped in two places. Other parts of his body had been pierced and ripped. But that wasn't the worst part. The most horrific sight of all was Jack's heart.

It was split in two.

Martha almost fainted from the sight. Doctor Schmidt had no reason to go any further. The situation's outcome was already obvious. He didn't want it to end this way, but there wasn't anything anyone could do about it. It was hopeless.

Jack was dead.

\(-{:*:}-)/

"What?"

"Are you serious?"

"No way!"

"You're kidding!"

"Quit joking around!"

"That's impossible!"

Those were the words that were cried when Ryou, Marik, Bakura, and Malik told everyone the news of Jack's death.

"I'm serious you guys!" Malik screamed. He was sad of Jack's passing and furious of the others not believing him.

"That's a lie!" Leo yelled in protest. He pouted. "I won't believe it!"

The group agreed. The only ones who did believe it were the yamis, the hikaris, and Echo.

"You all are a bunch of bloody wankers!" Ryou screamed.

"Unfortunately, though I didn't want to," Draken bit his tongue in rage, "I believe you."

"Aye." Agony nodded in agreement.

Alexis (My OC, not Alexis Rhodes) stepped forward. "Let me see him."

\(-{:*:}-)/

Martha cried and cried. She was forced to believe it. The child she had raised was gone. Gone forever. She walked over to Glace to wake her up. As she did so, she stopped as she passed Jack's head. Martha swore she had seen a dark color. She ignored it and continued on her way. Martha turned at the sound of the door opening. Alexis was carrying a large, beautiful basket woven out of lush, sturdy vines. She was wearing the kind of gloves a doctor would wear, and her expression was unusually calm, yet serious.

"Will you please exit the room?" Alexis asked. "There's something I need to do."

"Jack's dead, if that's why you're here." Martha said shakily.

"Please go." Alexis repeated.

"Why are you here?" Martha asked. "And what's in that basket?"

"I will ask you one more time." Alexis replied, her patience growing abnormally and dangerously short. "Will you please exit the room?"

"Listen to her Martha."

"Glace, you're awake!" Martha exclaimed.

"Yes, I am." Glace replied sleepily. She blinked a few times, then stood up. "Now, will you please listen to Alexis and leave?"

Martha sighed, seeing as it was two against one. "Very well." She walked out the door, closing it behind her.

"Ow." Glace moaned. "This light is so bright!"

"Indeed it is." Alexis replied. She opened her basked, revealing a large assortment of sewing tools and materials. There was also many medical items, antidotes, and medicines. She reached into the basket and pulled out a sewing needle and light green thread. The thread glowed mysteriously with life.

"I assume I can finish with enough time on the clock." Alexis said.

"You were always good with this kind of stuff." Glace reassured her.

"Right."

Alexis somewhat loomed over Jack's body. She delicately pushed the two halves of his heart together with one hand, and held the needle and thread in the other. Alexis then began to sew the heart back together, the string illuminating the inside of Jack's body. She did the same thing with anything that had been punctured or sliced.

When Alexis got to the bones, Glace stepped up and took over. She washed her hands thoroughly and ejected the claws of her right hand. The claws were sparkling clean, so there was no need to wash them. As suddenly as they appeared, the daggers turned to ice. The tween took her middle and index fingers and pressed them to her forehead. Sharp and frigid.

Glace walked over to her cousin and picked up parts of his rib cage. Glace saw this part as an easy jigsaw puzzle. She took her claws and rubbed them over the broken ribs. Smooth, gleaming ice slowly began to reconnect the two pieces. She did this for about a half an hour more until she was finally finished. Any bone in Jack's body that had broken in the slightest had its crack covered by a thin yet sturdy casing of ice. Even his spine was fixed. Glace used the same technique she had done while at the lake to move the blood in the bowl back into Jack's body. She made sure there was enough of it in any place it was needed. Alexis finished up the job by sewing Jack's chest up tight. Glace managed to slip off Jack's blood-soaked shirt and jacket.

"Thanks for helping out Alexis." Glace made about a 25 degree bow and dashed out the door, her cousin's clothes still in hand. She had realized Yusei had left as soon as the girls had finished. She also assumed Alexis had already noticed this. As soon as she had left, Glace returned to the room. She was going to wait for Jack to wake up. She would wait forever if she had to...

\(-{:*:}-)/

"Gr..." Yusei was pacing around in his room angrily. His tail, cat ears, whiskers, and claws were out in the open. Thankfully for him, nobody was around to hear his ranting, no matter how loud it got. "I thought for sure I had his soul dragged into He-" He coughed for a minute. "The Devil's domain, excuse me." His pacing began to accelerate.

"I just wish that girl would cease to meddle in my affairs!" With a single swipe of his hand, Yusei shattered a glass bottle in which he had no idea as to how it got there. Oh well, no need to think about it. "I even split that annoyance's heart in half, and yet somehow she still saves him! How could she have even known about it! I've had enough of this!" Out of unadulterated rage, the amber-eyed cobalt duelist obliterated the glass window on one wall of his second-story room, the sharp remains falling onto the shingles above the door, then sliding down onto the grass. In doing so, Yusei also unintentionally ripped the mattress of his bed in half.

The teen panted, his eyes glowing wonderfully. He fell onto his bed, face-first. Exhausted from his violent rampage, Yusei's feline features disappeared in thin air. Slowly, he flipped onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. Yusei glanced at the clock. It read 2:47 A.M. Deciding this was ridiculously early in the morning, Yusei drifted off to sleep.

\(-{:*:}-)/

Tigerclaw's ear twitched as distant footsteps tapped silently. He raised his head and looked up.

_Yusei's back, I presume._ The tabby thought. _I haven't seen him for many days now. I wonder how he's been._

As if on cue, the duelist walked onto the pathway he once had long ago and into the clearing. Both males looked at each other in different ways. They saw differences in each other that not many could see. And they were both glad to see each other again.

"Hello, Tigerclaw." Yusei greeted.

"Hello." Tigerclaw returned. "I see you've been well."

"I have." Yusei replied. Whatever peaceful expression he wore immediately diappeared, and was replaced with one of anger. Left claws ejected, he swiped at a tree, leaving huge wounds in the bark.

"What's wrong Yusei?" Tigerclaw inquired. He had never seen Yusei as angry as this.

"It's that girl." Yusei growled. "Glace."

The cat nodded. "I see."

"I almost had him." The duelist continued. "I did. But then she came along and saved him! I couldn't ever stand her! I'm sick of it! _Sick of it_!"

"Calm down Yusei." Tigerclaw coaxed. "Certainly there must be something we can do about her?"

"Tch." Yusei spat. "I bet she already knows of our little secret."

"You were being discreet about it, weren't you?" Tigerclaw asked.

"Yes, I was." Yusei replied. "However, that girl isn't like the others. She's just different."

Tigerclaw sighed. "Well, this isn't going to be good."

"But Glace will-"

"Glace won't tell anyone." The tabby reassured. "If you think otherwise, then chances are, you'd either be locked up in an insane asylum or dead at this very moment."

"What do you-" Yusei stopped. She must've overheard the argument. She could've gone back to the girls and told everyone. Tigerclaw's right! He shook his head. "Then what do I do?"

"Just be careful from now on." Tigerclaw replied. "That's all I can say. As long as no one grows too terribly suspicious, you should be fine."

Yusei nodded. "Okay." As he turned to make his leave, he thought of how hard that would be. Glace would be extra careful around her cousin and himself, so he couldn't take his chances there. Why? Well, he and many others have heard rumors of a poor man who had to suffer the wrath of Jack and Glace's teamwork. But, didn't Glace say that guy tried to, well, he wouldn't think about it. So, they were innocent. However, it was Glace who had an interesting reputation. Not a bad one, no, but a reputation that said for others not to mess with her relatives.

The duelist exited the Dark Forest so he could sleep in peace.

\(-{:*:}-)/

Jack coughed as his consciousness slowly returned to him. He opened his eyes to meet pure darkness. He couldn't see a thing. The blonde tried to sit up, but his chest hurt immensely. So he remained laying on his back without any light.

He waited for his eyes to adjust.

They never did.

He looked for a light underneath the door.

There wasn't one.

He looked for Glace's sparkling eyes.

He never saw them.

He opened his mouth to call out.

No sound was made.

He listened for breathing.

No breathing was heard.

He took a deep breath in hopes of catching and icy scent.

The room smelled of blood.

He licked his dry lips worriedly.

They tasted metallic and salty.

He weakly lifted his arm and reached out for help.

Two hands clasped around his own.

Jack could hear breathing nearby. He could taste the water from the ice someone was gently sliding over his mouth. He could smell flowering perfume and glistening ice. He could feel the care in the two hands; the icy softness. But all he could see was black.

"G-Glace?" Jack rasped.

"Yes, I'm here." The girl coaxed.

"It's so dark in here." Jack said nervously."I can't see."

Alexis was puzzled. It was dark in the room, but to not be able to see in here? It was so bizarre.

Glace was stunned as well. Her look of confusion turned to one of great horror. She whipped around to face Alexis, who was startled greatly.

"Alexis, stay here with Jack." The tween urged. "I have to see Martha. Now."

"Right."

"Thank you."

Glace dashed out of the room, screaming 'Martha! Martha!' as she went. Alexis stood up and took Glace's spot. Jack was shivering due to the coldness of the room.

\(-{:*:}-)/

"Martha Martha Martha Martha Martha!"

Glace was rapidly racing down the hallways screaming the woman's name. It certainly attracted a lot of attention. Anyone still awake heard her and the sight was hilarious.

The woman in-question turned when the child finally reached her in the kitchen.

"Martha Martha Martha Martha Martha!" Glace yelled once again for the umpteenth time, waving her hands like a Paffendorf at the same time.

"What is it?" Martha asked. Taka stopped what he was doing and stared at the tween.

"'it'soyeah." Glace took a deep breath. "Wowthatwashardtosay."

"How much sugar have you had today?" Taka asked.

"Notmuchnotmuch." Glace replied, bouncing on one foot.

"You mean ten pounds."

"Nonotatalliactuallyhaven''." Glace said quickly, now bouncing on her other foot.

"Right right."

"So, what exactly happened again?" Martha asked.

"It'sJackit'sJackyouneedtogoseehimnowhe'!" Glace screamed.

"Did you say Jack is alive?" Martha asked, her voice full of hope.

Glace nodded rapidly. "Yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes!

"Good Heavens I need to see this for myself!" Martha cried as she followed Glace back to the dim room.

"By now, Jack had been able to muster the strength required to sit up. He was panting from the effort, however. When Martha saw this, she nearly freaked out. Nonetheless, she ran over to the blonde, overjoyed.

"Oh, my sweet baby boy!" Martha cried into Jack's arm. "I'm so glad you're okay."

It was then that she realized Jack's body had tensed from the contact. He looked at her as if looking at a monster. Martha was confused by this action.

"J-Jack, are you all right?" She asked.

"Who... who are you?" Jack inquired nervously. His voice was shaky, as if terrified of the woman before him. The part that scared her the most, was the fact that Jack was staring at her with a wide eye (She couldn't see the other one).

"Why are you-" Martha now understood. This was what Glace meant by 'it'. It had taken nine years, but the 'it' that had haunted her dreams had finally come. The orphan care taker burst into tears. She had to grab Jack's body for support.

"There there..." Glace said as she did what she could to comfort Master's* foster mother.

"My name is Martha." The woman sobbed. "Do you remember Jack?"

"Yes... yes I do... Martha..." Jack could only breathe as his body lost the tense feeling it had.

"Oh Jack."

Glace could only look at the two as she blinked her teary eyes. Her master had finally met his fate. His long-awaited, depressing fate. She walked out and exited the house. Sapphire dragon wings appeared from her back, though without ripping her clothes. she flew up to the roof in which there was some sort of thin pole. Well, a pair of them, anyway. Luna was already up there waiting for her. She was wearing Flandre Scarlet's attire, complete with the Laevateinn and the cast iron wings**. She was standing on the pole to the left. Glace landed on the one to the left, and they both silently watched the crimson moon high above their heads. The entire world was illuminated by its crimson glow on the endless coat of snow. The girls' eyes glittered in the moonlight.

"U.N. Owen was Her?***" Glace said. "They do not know of her true identity, neither one. But tell me..."

"Will she always be U.N. Owen?"

**Chapters VII-VIII and maybe onward will not have any italics unless I decide to fix it beforehand. I'm glad I got this up. And yes, there will be many other crossovers in this one, but I'm still keeping it as it is. This will be the last time I'll update in a long time. I hope things will clear up soon. Anyway, I posted two chappies for you all to make you happy, so be content for awhile, kay? Thanks, and all the sweets in the world for you readers and reviewers!**

*** Glace will sometimes and often refer to Jack as her 'Master' with a capital M, in due respect.**

**** Yes, this will be mentioned in another of my fics, or will probably have something to do later on.**

***** Foreshadowing, anyone?**

**AshxGlace4EVER ~ Thinks First, Acts Beforehand**


	9. Catastrophic Bloody Curse of Death

**Hello again peoples! Sorry it took me so long, but now I'm forced to update like every two weeks. But still, I hope you enjoy! Oh, also, if I ever say 'Hell' in my stories, it's referring to Heaven and Hell. I don't use it the incorrect way. Also, my characters never swear unless I feel it appropriate for the occasion. But hey, this _is_ rated T, isn't it? And Glace never swears except for when she says 'Hell' (Same principles guys) or when she says the 'F' word, which is only when she and everyone else are in a situation in which it seems they're really _screwed_. So yeah, now read on!**

**Amber-Eyed Cobalt**

**Chapter IX: Catastrophe ~ Bloody Curse of Death**

\(-{:*:}-)/

The house was quiet from everyone being asleep. Well, all except one. He was sitting at a piano in the darkness, blindly playing the keys. Oddly enough, he was following the complicated sheet music correctly. His eyes closed, a dark, fitting tune was brought out from the darkness. Each melancholy note stalked the eerie hallways, but danced in the room in which they were summoned. The man behind the malicious instrument heed no mind to it. Two girls danced in a spotlight in the middle of the music room, surrounded by black and white music notes spinning to the beat. A red mist filled the rest of the space, the room seeming to be filled with a distant, foreign magic. The man played on, silent as a spirit mourning the dead. As each key was pressed, a piece of the room seemed to fall into oblivion. It was not long until the barrier of death was the very ballroom. Iron and ice wings twirled about, spreading their adorned glory amongst the rest. One girl wore a pink and red skirt, while the other a white and blue one. Red and blue eyes illuminated what darkness had brought; they found what light had left behind. As the song reached its end, the girls stopped moving. The spotlight dimmed, and the room turned to black. The man wore white clothing and was completely silent. The three figures vanished into mid-air. (The first who can guess what song he was playing gets a cookie! I'll say who got it right first and say what the song was, so guess away!)

This was the dream of the boy who died of his friends.

The boy who was blinded by darkness.

The boy who was backstabbed and betrayed numerous times.

The boy whose soul was saved by Youkai.

The boy who was tied with ancient history.

The boy who was falsely guilty but never proven innocent.

The boy who was the Black Witch.

The boy who unwillingly stole Spring.

The boy who found the meaning of hope in a two-year-old dying girl.

The boy who would be forever put to misery.

The boy whose mother and father had left him, but gave him his brother and sisters.

The boy who never knew his kin were standing beside him all his life.

The boy who would perish if he knew who they were.

The boy who needed mercy and comfort.

The boy who served in the fiery depths.

The boy who died long ago to save his friends.

The boy who was dropped into Abyss.

The boy who suffered endlessly.

The boy who endlessly died but forever lived.

The boy whose true intentions were never realized.

The boy whose love he never kissed.

The boy whose spirits were forever crushed.

The boy who never gave up.

The boy who was blessed by the Scarlet Devil.

The boy who sought to entertain others.

The boy who never lied.

The boy who never loved.

The boy whose name was Jack Atlas.

\(-{:*:}-)/

_Why?_

That was Glace's only thought. The word ran through her ears. It was all she could hear at the time. She was lying on her bed without movement, deep in thought. The pieces fit together, and it wasn't difficult for her to believe, but why? That's all she needed to know. Why would Yusei do such a thing? Perhaps it's revenge. Yes, that's probably it. She drifted off to sleep. She'd tell the others about Jack when they freaked out from seeing an undead zombie. She chuckled...

\(-{:*:}-)/

Morning, the devil's might against him.

Jack's head hurt. Insane laughing echoed in his head. No doubt was it Yusei's. He just wished it would all go away.

It was then that he realized he wasn't wearing a shirt. Therefore, he was able to see the stitches on his chest oh so very easily. Alexis. He thought. And Glace perhaps.

The boy sat up, visibly flinching as he did so. He must've banged himself up really good if Glace and Alexis had to step in. Especially if he was still in pain afterwards. Jack merely breathed, piano music playing in his ears. His fingers began to drum on his bed, as if playing the notes he heard. Said notes he could've swore had gotten louder as he did this. Jack then heard someone laughing like an unadulteratedly insane banjo-playing hobo monkey. (Guess who?)

Glace leaned over her bed, then fell to the floor (Jack and Glace have bunk beds, and Glace sleeps on the top). She quickly stood up, and pointed to him.

"U.N. Owen is coming!" She cried. (Yep, no duh it was meh XD)

"U.N. Owen... is coming?" Jack repeated.

"Yes!" (As you can see, I'm a Touhou freak)

They both stared. Two minutes. Three minutes. Four minutes. Five.

"Silence." Jack whispered.

They burst out laughing.

"Wh-wha?"

Crow was gawking at the two, mainly Jack.

"But y-you you're you-" He practically melted to the floor, still muttering.

"He really is alive, Crow." Glace smirked.

"But he' supposed to-"

"Well, he's not, kay?"

"Okay."

Crow stood up, brushed off his butt, and stared Jack right in the eyes. Well, eye in Jack's case (What a cruel joke!).

"So, you're not dead?"

"No, he's n-"

"Let him answer for himself!" Crow shouted. "Now are you dead or not?"

Jack just stared. Was he or wasn't he? It was such a simple question, so why couldn't he answer it?

"I-I'm not dead." Jack stuttered. He sounded so unsure. Then again, he was wearing his emotions on his sleeve. He wasn't hiding anything.

Crow noticed this and took a step back. "Hey, what happened to you man? You kinda zoned out for a minute. What's going on?"

Was this really Jack Atlas?

"I-I'm not sure." Jack replied. It was still dark. Why hadn't they turned on the lights yet?

"Come on Jack." Glace coaxed, lightly squeezing the boys hand. She slipped on a shirt for him. It wasn't his, for sure, but it was much like it. "Why don't we see who else is up at the moment?"

Jack nodded and followed his youngest cousin. The two walked down a hallway for a bit, then Jack broke the silence.

"Why hasn't anyone turned on the lights?"

There was a tug on his arm. Glace had stopped. She chuckled oddly for a minute, then replied.

"You'll see."

The pair kept walking, until Glace stopped once again, no doubt in a room. Jack did as well.

There were many sudden replies to the couple's entrance. Though Jack had no idea how they could see in the pitch-blackness of (Apparently) the entire house, and he had no idea as to which room they were in, and he had no idea where anyone even was, he could tell everyone was completely shocked. One voice, however, he could make out among all the others.

"I was so worried about you! I'm so glad you're here!"

That was the only voice that said something as joyous as that. The voice as none other than Carly Carmine's (Yeah, and now Carmine is one of my favourite shades of red ;D). She was the only one who had said something as caring as that. Everyone else said that he should be dead (Because that's what they thought he was).

The reporter ran up to the duelist and hugged him. Jack still couldn't see anyone, so it was quite sudden for him. He returned the gesture, not caring at all if anyone noticed. There were several gasps following this, but Jack didn't care. He loved Carly, and he wasn't afraid to show it, unlike some other idiots out there.

Glace smiled, though no one noticed. She gave a small tug on Jack's arm, saying without words, "Let's go now."

Jack let go of Carly and followed without hesitation. (Oh Ra think of how awkward this must be!) He still had no idea where she was taking him.

"Martha!" Glace called. She didn't dare let go of Jack's hand. "Martha, I'm here!"

"Come in, Glace!" Martha called back.

Glace did as she was told and entered the room.

"I brought him Martha." Glace said.

Jack cocked his head. "What are you talking about?" He asked.

"Let me take a look." Martha said, walking closer to the two, mainly Jack. The blonde stared blankly ahead.

The woman examined his eyes, or the one that was visible anyway. She gasped as she moved Jack's hair to reveal his other 'eye'.

"Oh, you poor thing" Martha sympathized. "I never expected this."

"What? What's wrong?" Jack asked, beginning to panic. Glace squeezed his hand, and he calmed down.

Instead of replying to Jack's question, Martha turned to the tween.

"Well, his right eye looks unusually cloudy, no doubt the reason." Martha said.

Glace nodded. "Figures."

"Though I never knew of his left eye." Martha continued. "How long ago had that occurred?"

Glace thought for a moment. "I'm not sure."

"Anyway, I doubt his situation is in any way reversible." Martha bowed her head.

"Then that means..."

"Yes. It was the inevitable, after all."

"I understand."

"You may leave."

"Yes Martha."

As the duo left, Glace turned to her cousin.

"Do you understand now?" The tween asked. "Why no one has turned on the lights?"

"Y-yes." Jack stuttered. the boy shivered. He didn't have his jacket on, so the chilly Winter air was really getting to him. Glace noticed this, and chuckled.

"I would've given you your coat back," She sighed, "but it was in tatters far beyond repair. Ryou fixed it once, but he claimed to be unable to do it again. Not with the condition it was in, anyway."

The tween led the older duelist back into his room. She told him to stay out, and then left.

Jack once again began to drum his fingers on his bed. And once again piano notes were heard from it. It was an upbeat tune, as if it were for an excited reporter girl. A very fast and feisty one, at that. It was almost as if you could see the girl dancing in the raven night sky. (Once again, if you can guess what song this is, you get a cookie!)

Out of nowhere, the 'teen' heard tapping behind him. Humming as well. Glace was back, obviously, and she loved what Jack could do.

"Here." Glace said as she stood by Jack. She took his hand and placed a round object into it.

He immediately bit into it.

Glace laughed and sweatdropped in unison. "Somehow, I knew you'd do that."

Jack smiled and licked his lips. "I love apples! Thank you!"

That little outburst would be very unusual, if the object Glace had given her cousin had NOT been an apple.

"Well, I just figured since you hadn't really eaten anything yet this morning..." The tween said sheepishly.

\(-{:*:}-)/

Crow was mad. He felt like nailing Jack in the face. Yusei could see the anger in his 'brother's' eyes.

"What's up?" The raven-haired duelist asked.

"It's Jack." The redhead spat. "He hasn't done any work all day!"

The others were busy doing chores, ect. Jack was not. He hadn't really been inside the house lately, but he hadn't been very far from it either. He was currently playing the piano, another lively tune that Yusei seemed to take a liking to. As he grabbed a knife to put away, he chucked it at the wall instead. He would've pierced Glace's skull if she hadn't ducked out of the way. (For a third time, you know the drill)

"Whats the big idea?" The tween cried. "You tryin' ta kill me or something?"

"That's the plan." Yusei smirked.

Glace rolled her eyes. Of course he was joking. She was also very irked due to the boys' conversation.

"Anyway," Crow continued, "he's making Glace work twice as much as she already does, and that's saying something!"

"Well for your information," Glace growled, "I'm perfectly fine with that!" Her visible condition showed full strength, but her eyes clearly said otherwise.

"Look Glace, he's overworking you, whether you confess or no." Yusei growled.

"Yeah, he's not disabled in any way, so he should help out as well!" Crow shouted. "I mean, just look at him! All he's been doing the whole day is play that dang piano!" The redhead grabbed Glace by her shirt collar. "Do you really think that's fair, Glace? Do you?"

"Yes I do!" The maiden spat.

Every sound in the house was hushed by her outburst.

Even Jack paused for a long segment of time.

"Why should it be fair?" Crow questioned. His voice was shaky. No one had EVER heard Glace scream as loud as she had.

"I'm not telling you." Glace hissed. "If you REALLY want to know, then you'd man up and ask Jack yourself!" She left to the room in which Jack was currently in. Crow glanced over at Yusei.

"Well, we might as well." The youngest duelist replied. Crow nodded and followed Glace.

When the boys entered the room, the tween was whispering in Jac's ear, the male nodding as she went. The girl noticed the duo and quickly finished. She walked over to the doorway and exited into the hallway.

"All right Jack. We want answers. Now." Crow said.

Jack just stared, giving the redhead no reply. However, his body had shown he was tense.

"Well? Answer me!" Crow screamed.

Still no reply.

"Hey, you'd better spit it out, before I get really angry!" Crow threatened.

Glace just watched. She wanted to help, yes, but there was nothing she could do.

By now, a crowd had begun to gather inside the room. Everyone was watching with anticipation, holding their breaths, waiting for Jack's next move, wondering with curiosity what if would be.

He never made one.

He just sat there, shaking with fear.

But nobody noticed.

"Okay that's it!" As Crow said this, he swung his leg out from underneath him, proceeding in kicking the legs of the chair Jack was sitting on. The legs broke as the chair slid out from underneath him surprisingly easier than expected. Jack banged the bridge of his nose on the keyboard, without breaking it, to be true, but with enough force to cause his nose to bleed, and fell onto the floor. Crow grabbed the blonde by the collar of his shirt just like he had done to Glace. He then dragged him over to the complete opposite side of the room.

Why was he so light?

"I've had enough of you!" Crow shouted. He flung the older boy back across the room. Yusei opened the top of the piano so Jack would fly into it.

And sure enough, he did.

The strings inside the instrument snapped as the teen hit them. Other parts inside of it broke as well.

When that happened, Yusei slammed the lid of the piano straight down with all of his force.

Right onto Jack's neck.

The boy screeched in agony as the pressure was applied. Everyone flinched or cringed at the sound. Crow dashed over to his eldest 'brother' and yanked him out. The blonde was now covered in blood from the crash. The stitches hadn't ripped, for some reason. The redhead stared into whatever was still visible of Jack's right eye. Most of it was obscured by his hair, as his neck was hanging limp on his body.

"I can't stand you anymore!" Crow yelled as he shook the blonde. "I don't know how anyone, especially Glace, can put-!"

The middle boy immediately dropped the eldest and stared. Had he really seem what he thought he had seen? He couldn't have.

Jack struggled to stand up, and was only able to because Glace had been his prop. He struggled to push his hair back behind his ears, and lifted his head. To everyone's astonishment...

His left eye was gone.

Carly, Akiza, and the other kids gasped. Kalin and Echo looked away. The yamis' eyes widened while the hikaris left the room as fast as they could. Glace merely gritted her teeth in rage.

'Yusei, I'm gonna kill you.' The tween hissed to herself.

Crow looked on into the black void. He couldn't tear his own eyes away. It was as if he were forced to keep watching. Blood oozed out of the wound like a raging waterfall. It was a gory sight indeed. Yusei - when no one was looking, of course - grinned and licked his lips. His expression, however, immediately changed to one of utter horror and disgust. The change was truthful, to be sure. Even the inflictor couldn't bear the sight.

"There. Now you know." Jack said in a grave voice. It made Yusei shudder. "Happy now?"

"Wha-what happened to you?" Crow squeaked.

"You still want more, do you?" Jack asked, his breathing growing heavy.

"C'mon Jack." Glace said, tugging on her cousin's arm. "Let's go."

Glace's gang followed her as she led Jack away from the crowd. No one, not even Yusei, deserved that kind of beating. She knew he would try at Jack again, and she wasn't about to let that happen.

Glace had managed to stop the blood from spilling any further once the group was far enough away. The strain lightened as her brother Silver pitched in*.

"Martha!" Glace called. "Martha! Martha, we need your help now!"

"Glace, sweetheart, I'm making lunch right now." Martha called back. "I hate to put it off, but can it wait?"

"No it can't!" Ryan hissed. "Jack needs you RIGHT NOW!"

Something dropped onto the floor. It didn't crash and shatter, so it must've been plastic. Martha came running to the kids, a look of terror already plastered on her face. Jack's clothes were soaked in dried, black blood. The blonde was still unsteady on his feet, and was bleeding in various other places. The only apparent sign of his eye being injured again was the gore on his face. It was obvious he had nearly been beaten to death.

"Oh my!" Martha cried. "What happened to him?"

"Does 'Crow and Yusei' give you a hint?" Morgan asked.

The orphan care taker sighed and shook her head. "Not again." She murmured.

"Yep, again." Nemesis grumbled.

"They broke the piano too." Alexis pouted.

"Smashed the lid against his neck." Connor continued.

"I'll have to say something to those two." Martha spoke. "I really hate it when they do this."

"Yeah." Silver replied.

"No kidding." Glace added.

Martha had Jack sit in a chair and proceeded wipe the blood off of his skin with a rag. When she finished, she took a roll of bandage cloth (Whatever it is) and wrapped it around Jack's head, slanting it so it covered his left eye socket (If you've seen Pandora Hearts, how Break had his eye bandaged that way, yeah it's the same).

"I suppose you're going to tell them?" Martha turned to Glace.

"Yeah." The tween replied. "It's best they know now rather than later. Besides, it's better they hear it from me versus someone else."

"And as in someone else you mean someone who isn't related to him." Ryan said.

"Right." Glace exited the room.

"So what happened?" Leo asked Glace as she went.

"I'll explain in a minute." She replied.

"Why not now?"

"Because." She sighed,"Everyone needs to hear this."

The noise level in the room where the crowd was STILL was truly unbearable. It was mainly chatter of the past ten minutes (Estimated, of course). A whistle from Glace, however, was all it took to silence this gossip.

"Guys (As in 'everyone'), especially Crow and Yusei, there's something I need to tell you." Glace stated.

All eyes were on her.

She had the floor.

She could tell them right here and now.

She would tell them all the tragedy that had befallen.

She would silence their rumors.

She would tell them the truth.

She cleared her throat.

"I'm not sure how to say it correctly, but I guess I should just blurt it out, eh?"

"Well, hurry up and say it!" Crow shouted. "We don't have all day!"

"What a selfish remark." Glace said so softly only the demon in the basement could hear it.

"Well then, what were you going to say?" Akiza asked politely, to Glace's relief.

The tween shook her head.

"Though we didn't know when, and we worried about it day and night since, after exactly nine years of waiting in anticipation..."

"What is it?" Yusei growled in impatience. Glace scowled.

"Jack is blind."

\(-{:*:}-)/

**So, who all knew I would do that? Jack's finally gone blind, yippie! Anyway, I gave clues as to what the songs were by the setting, clothing, or how they sounded. I'll tell you right now they're from either Touhou 6 or 9, so start guessing! Well, that's really all there is to it. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! R&R please! Ciao!**

**(New Signature!) **_**Crystal Moonlight ~ Death By Scarlet Love**_


	10. All Darkness and Light Disperse

**I can tell after such suspense, you just HAD to have more, so I'll give you more. This little story will Be very interesting, I just know it. I hope you enjoy (Why wouldn't I?). HIIIIIIIIII!**

**Amber-Eyed Cobalt**

**Chapter X: All Darkness and Light Dispersed**

\(-{:*:}-)/

"What!"

Glace nodded her head. "It's true. Just last night. I'd say the fall 'n injuries did 'im in."

"Well, at least we don't have to wait anymore." Ryan reluctantly shrugged.

"Yeah." Glace replied.

"Hold on." Crow said. "What do you mean by 'don't have to wait anymore'?"

Glace gritted her teeth. She sighed and, though extremely loath to do it, began to tell the gruesome tale. Or was about to anyway, for she was stopped by Jack, who even though he couldn't see was able to halt her speech.

The blonde coughed and proceeded to dye his wrist red.

"It was a blistering cold night like recently (Only much worse by far, of course), exactly nine years ago..."

*Flashback (Jack is ten, Yusei & Crow are both nine, but Crow is just months older) (Unnarrated)*

Jack was in his room, surrounded by various dolls of people and mythical creatures. He is currently playing with one, her copper-crimson hair swaying in the light. Her white dress gives her angelic features, her metallic, dull red eyes becoming lost in all eternity. Another one is in an opposite hand, this one having coal-golden hair that nearly blocked his matching eyes. He is wearing a black suit that complements his fine, gentlemanly style. The two were dancing together gracefully, as if destiny had brought them together. For some reason, the couple looked all too familiar to Jack, as if he knew them from somewhere. But he heed no mind to it. Because all was right in his world at the moment. After all the torture, all the pain, the suffering, he finally had some peace.

Though, unfortunately, it didn't last long at all.

Crow and Yusei were, unbeknownst to Jack until then, standing in the doorway, smirking at the blonde's childish - and more importantly in this case girly and feminine - ways. They snickered, startling Jack. He gasped when he saw heir looming figures (Around this time, Jack was still very close to the others' height).

"Wh-what are y-you doing h-here?" The 'eldest boy' asked.

"How many times do we have to _TELL_ you, boys don't play with dolls!" Crow sneered.

"He's such a girl!" Yusei teased. "Looks like just saying it won't teach him anything, huh Crow?" Both boys grinned as the violet-eyed boy shook with terror.

"No, no not that!" He begged. "Please, anything but that! Please! Anything!"

"Heh, look Yus'! Crow exclaimed with laughter. "She's already crying and we haven't even touched her yet!"

"What a wuss!" Yusei responded. He kicked about twelve of the dolls out of his way, greatly damaging them in some way (The heads usually broke), while Crow covered the rest. They now had a clear path to their 'brother' and therefore marched straight to him. Jack was still sobbing violently. Crow snatched the male doll from his hands and set it on the floor. Jack screamed as the redhead's heel came straight on the figure's head, which was soon no more. Martha was sound asleep, so she didn't hear a thing.

Yusei then leaped upon Jack, who desperately and discreetly tossed the remaining doll off to the side so as it wouldn't be harmed. The blonde was brutally kicked and beaten by the other two. In mere seconds, his body was half-covered with blood. Already his panting was dangerously heavy. He was on his hands and knees, coughing up tremendous amounts of blood. The carpet was stained beyond repair. If I needed to put it in any simpler way, I'd say he looked like a poorly-treated slave. Heck, you couldn't even tell his hair had beforehand been blonde. This continued for about a half an hour, the two boys clearly enjoying the other's clear agony. His room by now looked like the equivalent to Hell. The fighting was also now taking place on Jack's bed (It wasn't a bunk bed yet, so they had plenty of room).

"You're a disgrace to us and Martha!" Yusei shouted.

"You never should've been born!" Crow added.

The cobalt-eyed boy crouched, the demon in him showing more than it ever had before. He and Crow both lunged at Jack, preparing to strike their hardest. Jack flinched and awaited his painful fate.

Now, there was a major downside that came with sleeping in Jack's room. It was that there was a rather large window on the same window the bed was pushed against (And was in fact unable to be moved from that spot). The boys didn't take in this fact. They also failed to notice Jack's positioning. Can you guess where out little blonde friend is?

"SO JUST_ DIE_!" Yusei shrieked.

As the two attacks hit, something completely unintentional happened (Though Yusei and Crow were still delighted by it). The blows were backed up with so much force, Jack's body was forced through the hard metal bars and shattering glass, and ultimately out the window.

If you guessed Jack was right in front of said window (In which I might as well add the bars were in the outlining shape of the three Egyptian Gods on the right and the three Sacred Beasts on the left (Jack bought it himself; he used all of his money to get it and a window of Blue Eyes W. Dragon, Red Eyes B. Dragon, and the Dark Magician along with Yami no Yuugi, Kaiba, and Joey for Crow and Yusei)), then you were right.

The blonde screeched in fear and terror as he began his brutal descent. His cry succeeded in shattering everything from a range of about ten miles that was made of glass (And no, this wasn't exaggerated at all, just to let you know, and that wasn't sarcasm). This is also what woke up Martha, I might add. That night was a very abnormal night indeed, for the snow that was on the ground was about five and a half feet high. But the snow that was _FALLING_, oh that was a completely different story. For some odd _FREAKING_ reason, God had decided to hate Jack that night, so in order to lengthen his suffering even more, he chose to ask Mother Nature to make it snow _ICICLES_ that night (Only partially though, it was still snowing half normally). Very. Sharp. Big. Pointy. _ICICLES_. No kidding. When Jack reached the ground, the right side of his body made dreaded contact with the earth below, the snow refusing to provide any sort of pillow or cushion. So now not only was Jack buried in over five feet of snow and very soon being covered in it, but he was at the same time being stabbed with icicles! If you don't feel sorry for this boy, then you _MUST_ be Satan's reincarnation!

Well, Crow and Yusei were laughing almost to death. The unfortunate part of it though is that they laughed _ALMOST_ to death. Those little devils loved i when they tortured Jack, and this was very easily treating their lust for amusement. It was also then that Yusei spied the doll Jack had tried to save. Crow noticed as well, and he knew what his 'brother' had in mind for it. And, in Crow's case, it was good he brought that 'little something' with him.

"May I do the honors?" Yusei turned to his friend, who smirked.

"Sure buddy." Crow replied.

The raven-haired boy swiped the remaining doll from the floor, found a thumbtack, and it upside-down on the wall by her clothing. Crow handed Yusei a rather large hammer he had found in one of the kitchen drawers. It was the one Martha would use to smash up nuts or even peppermints by slamming the metal spiked side of it on a bag in which the contents was held. The boy stepped back, flipped the spiked side to face the wall, aimed as accurately as he could (Which I might add was indeed very accurate)...

And crushed the doll's head.

Wood splintered across the wood as the skull of the last lovebird was shattered into oblivion. Yusei cackled evilly as he and Crow dashed to his room (They share a room). And since Martha had to pick around the broken glass, she never new they did it, as she didn't get up the stairs in time. And, for some odd reason, she wasn't able to hear the boys' laughter.

Back outside, Jack was already freezing to death. There was absolutely _NO WAY_ it could've gotten any better, because it kept getting worse, without a doubt. The icicles penetrated his skin, forcing the hot blood to rush out. He was getting more and more lightheaded by the second.

Slowly, slowly...

Death was approaching him...

But _SHE_ wouldn't let Death take him.

A little girl, probably the age of two, was burrowing in the deep snow. She was quite small, and seemed very weak, considering you could see every bone in her body as long as it wasn't covered up by her 'peasant clothes' (They weren't very warm, but they still fit, and they were clothing, after all). She was also shaking violently, but she kept digging. This indicated that she was nearly dead. She had long, unkempt, golden-brown hair and dull sapphire eyes. Her teeth (Yes, they were already there) were unusually sharp. In other words, this little girl seemed to defy every law and rule of physics. She also seemed to say 'Screw the rules I'm not even 10% human!' or something of the sort. However, this particular two-year-old wasn't JUST digging through the snow.

She was digging directly toward Jack.

When she reached the boy, anyone but her would've been fooled to think he was dead. But she knew he wasn't. She pulled a blanket out of a basket she was holding and laid it over Jack's nearly frozen body, making sure to cover his whole body. Rolling him over, the girl grabbed ANOTHER blanket and put it over whatever was now exposed. She then retrieved a scarf from the same basket and used it as a pillow for him. He was now facing her, though unconscious to be sure.

Seeing her work was done, the two-year-old grabbed her basket and began to leave.

However, she was stopped by a hand grabbing her own.

She turned to see Jack's hand, though very lightly, clutching hers. He slightly opened his eyes but quickly shut them again as he coughed up more blood.

"Please... Don't leave..." Jack begged.

The girl nodded and trudged back. The older child took the younger one and shielded her from the cold, grasping her in his arms. He was careful not to squeeze to hard, for fear of breaking any of her bones. Not like he could anyway. Many of his own had been shattered already, so it pained him to do anything else, really. The girl was surprisingly warm, considering it looked as if she hadn't eaten anything ever in her life.

'No matter what happens,' Jack thought, 'I won't ever let go... Ever...'

\(-{:*:}-)/

Martha was bawling inside the house, shaken with the thought that her 'little boy' was stranded out in the cold, probably dead by now. The snow had risen to nine feet three inches and was still going. Crow and Yusei were trying to comfort their caretaker, genuine tears staining their faces. The boys completely regretted what they had done, but it was too late for that.

Yusei remembered the doll whose head he had crushed. He sincerely wished he hadn't.

Crow remembered the doll who he had stepped on. He was utterly filled with grief.

Jack was outside, waiting under more than 4' 3'' of snow. The little girl was as well. She had managed to make something of a dome that prevented the snow from touching them. He had gotten over the pain he felt when he moved, so he was able to sit upright. He could hardly even remember his bones were broken in the first place, which was very unnerving, but still he brushed it off. They just sat there until what Jack thought as nighttime. Then, they took action.

The girl grabbed her basket (Which had all the previous contents inside) and jumped up as high as she could, latched onto the roof of the dome, made a hole in the ice (Yes, she somehow managed to make an _ICE CASING_), and shot up straight to the surface. Jack copied her moves and ended up staring at the dark sky above. The snow had become so high that it reached the blonde's bedroom window. How very convenient indeed. The duo crawled into Jack's room quickly and silently. Everyone was asleep by now, so they just decided to hang out until morning or until they fell asleep as well.

"So, um..." Jack stuttered. He couldn't quite find the right words. "What's your name?"

The girl didn't reply. Instead, she turned her basket so a silver plate was facing the boy, then walked over and retrieved the beloved couple of dolls. Jack blinked and accepted them from the girl.

"These dolls... They're my favorite." He said. He took notice of how the girl's eyes welled up with the sight of them. He began to sob as well. "How, how could they..."

Jack then noticed the plate on the basket. There were words etched in sapphire. He read them aloud.

"_Xerxes Glace Hydro; Fourth and Final Child and Second Daughter of Gold and Copper Hydro; Sister: Nemesis Hydro; Brother: Silver Hydro; Eldest Brother..._"

Jack shook his head as he read the words.

"_Yeralore Jack Hydro._"

Jack knew it wasn't him. His name was Jack Atlas. Though he still thought it was funny how they had the same name.

It was sudden, but Jack began to feel a bit light headed. His body rocked unsteadily. His eyesight dimmed, and he fell to the floor, asleep.

*End Flashback*

"Wow, so that's what happened?" Leo jumped out of his seat.

Jack and Glace solemnly nodded. Yusei and Crow had fled as the two had finished the story.

"But, what does that have to do with Jack's blindness?" Akiza asked.

"When Jack fell to the ground, I guess part of his eye was damaged." Glace reasoned. "The next morning he claimed his right eye was a bit watery, so Martha took him to Dr. Schmidt. The doc said he'd eventually go blind, so yeah."

"Then nine years later, it happened." Jack finished. He chuckled bitterly. "That's also why I refused for the doctors in New Domino see an x-ray of me."

"Why not?" Luna questioned.

As a response, the blonde bent his fingers back.

All the way back.

As in back to where they touched his wrist.

"Wow." Malik said.

"Dat's even better than my Brooklyn Rage!" Joey exclaimed (Of course he did).

"Yeah, 'cause they haven't healed yet." Jack smirked.

"Hey Jack, can I talk to you for a minute?" Glace asked.

"Sure."

The tween grabbed Jack's wrist and nearly, yet unintentionally, dragged him to their room.

"There's something I need to tell you _right now_." Glace murmured. "It'll make your life _so_ much easier."

"Um, okay." Jack replied. The two sat down on Jack's bed.

"Do you remember that little unique quality of yours?" Glace began. "Y'know, the one where you'd pass out from taking too much damage?"

"Yeah." Jack replied. "Why?"

"Well, thing is, you never actually _passed out_."

"Huh?"

"See, the truth is, you didn't pass out." Glace explained. "You died."

"What?" Jack gasped.

"It's true." Glace sighed and shook her head. "Hey, I don't like it either okay?"

"Glace, do you perhaps know how many times I've died?" Jack asked.

"Hm, well I'll go ahead and estimate that you died about fifteen times every month, so you'd take twelve times fifteen and get one hundred-eighty, or how many times per year. Then, you multiply that times eleven and get nineteen hundred-eighty, how many times in all."

Jack just blinked. "Wow."

"And, I'd say when Yusei killed you the other night and earlier today, that made it exactly 1980."

"Interesting."

"Also, about the basket..."

"Yes?"

"The last name written..."

"It was really odd, wasn't it?"

"That was..."

"Was what?"

"That was your name."

The words echoed in Jack's head.

_My name?' He thought. 'Have I been living all my life without knowing?_

"And, Jack..." Glace whispered. "Until you were eight, your parents were still alive."

"What!"

"Well, think about it." Glace stated. "I mean, Silver, Nemmy, and I wouldn't be here if they weren't. After all, we _are_ brother and sister."

"And to think all along we were closer than just cousins." Jack sighed.

"Hey, it's alright." Glace murmured. She lowered her head. "I would've told you beforehand. If only there weren't a price..."

"Hm?"

"You see, you're really special. You can die so many times and yet every time you live again." Glace praised. "But..."

"Yes?"

"This might sound a bit far fetched, but I'm telling the truth."

"Kay."

"When you were born, Mama and Papa were overjoyed. My friends' parents were as well, since they were acquainted with our parents. Well, except for Ryan's dad. No one liked him. And, he didn't like us. He was an evil man, and wanted revenge for some reason in which was rediculous. So, in order to get revenge, he tried to kill you. He was a magician and bearer of the Amethyst Tail mark (Now currently Ryan's mark), and even though you already had your mark, he knew you couldn't completely use its power.

"Fortunately, Mama still had 'Dialga's Wings' for her mark* along with the head, so she used an instant chain** and blasted him away. But she knew he would come back, so she asked her brother, who also witnessed the scene, to take you away and hide you from the beast."

"I, remember..." Jack whispered. (This next part is just Jack talking)

"A basket..."

"Yes, a white-haired man. One eye by the color red..."

"He's taking me, away from Ma..."

"Away from Ma..."

Tears were streaming down the blonde's face.

"Why..."

"Why did I cause such pain..."

"To people I didn't even know..."

"Ma, I'm sorry..."

"For letting you down..."

He was still

"It endlessly repeats..."

"I'm shaking, I'm shaking..."

"I think so..."

"You're sweet..." He breathed.

"So sweet..."

Glace shuddered. "Jack, calm down." But she wasn't heard.

"Red..."

"So red..."

Yusei entered the room, and the blonde began to laugh. It was a sinister, echoey, high-pitched, insane sort of laugh (In other words, not one you'd nonrmally hear from him, but from a power-crazy girl). Immediately, his right eye lit up like a light bulb. The eerie purple glow was countered by a light sapphire blue as Glace embraced her eldest brother. With his left hand (Which was now enveloped in something of a crimson mist), Jack pointed at the amber-eyed cobalt duelist.

"Amber-Eyed Cobalt..."

His pupil was a tiny dot, which terrified Yusei.

"_I'll kill you!_"***

And Jack passed out, more so died in the scarlet moonlight's bloody reign.

\(-{:*:}-)/

**Well, that was fun. I just went to see YGO 3D Bonds Beyond Time and got TWO Malefic Red Eyes B. Dragon cards! The movie was epic, and when it comes out on DVD (If ever), I'm sooo gonna get it! It was a mixture of terror, epicness, excitement, and hilarity. Seriously, there a lot of funny things in that movie! I pretty much dragged my mom to the nearest movie theatre and met three girls there, one being a senior. About two minutes and we're best friends. No kidding. I even got their e-mails! So, that was pretty cool, if you ask me. Hey, if you were reading A-EC before this chapter was posted, go back to the beginning of Chap. I/1. I slightly edited some stuff, so check it out! So, R&R, I guess! Ciao!**

*** There are four main signer dragons, as in the really big ones: Crimson Dragon, Gemstone Dragon, Dialga, and Palkia. The main rivalries between these dragons are Dialga vs Palkia and Crimson vs Gemstone, while in an all-out war the sides are Crimson & Palkia vs Gemstone & Dialga. Knowing this, you can infer that these four are partners in the same way (E.x. Gemstone won't ever go against Dialga)**

**** A 'chain' (In signer cases) is where signers power up one another by directing an attack at one another, in which the target absorbs it in order to strengthen his/her own energy. The signers (In my eyes) are based on five 'elements'. Usually, signers with the same type of mark are rivals as long as their dragons are rivals Most signers (Due to an alternate form, such as a Pokemon form) can also use other elements and abilities (In this list, the second element said is the first element's weakness while the third is the first's resistance).**

**Head signers are bestowed with the power of water (The first element) and are an energy source to lightning (Second). They destroy the element of fire (Third).**

**Wing signers control the might of lightning and/or electricity (First). Their light is shrouded by darkness (Second) while at the same time it disperses water's (Third, and so on) grace.**

**Arm/Foreleg signers strike with leaf/earth whips, but burns with the touch of flames. The dark has been known to cower in fear of them.**

**Leg/Hindleg signers' souls crackle with the power of fire, though most aren't pure demons. Their blasts turn to mere steam when they make contact with liquids, but feast upon the greenery around them.**

**Tail signers' mischief comes from the shaodws. They aren't normally evil or cruel-hearted and grassy areas aren't normally the best places to fight. They do, however, easily turn out the lights.**

***** Jack had begun to sing a _U.N. Owen was Her?_ remix by EastNewSound. I skipped some parts, but that's a bit of the first part. As you can probably tell, I was listening to that while typing it.**

_**Crystal Moonlight ~ Death By Scarlet Love**_


	11. Sweet Midnight of Death

**Okay, so you're probably thinking 'Only one chapter and it's been like a month?' right? Yeah, yeah, I know. But hey, it's close to the end of school, and I've been busy. I have a life too, you know. Anyway, from now until the end of school, I'll be uploading slower than usual. Nonetheless, I'll try to get at least one chapter every two weeks. Having said that, here's chapter eleven of Amber-Eyed Cobalt for ya! Oh, and if anyone's heard from Hysterical Insanity lately (as in like the last three days or so) please contact me. I seriously think she's dead or something.**

**\(-{:*:}-)/**

**Amber-Eyed Cobalt**

**Chapter XI: Sweet Midnight of Death**

It was midnight.

Jack was in his bed, dead, waiting to live again.

Glace was in hers, asleep yet listening for threats.

Everyone else was in Dream Land.

Yusei had woken up about ten minutes ago.

His eyes had somewhat snapped open. He could've sworn he'd heard some sort of growl. He glanced around the void that was his room.

He heard it again.

The duelist sat up as quietly as possible, trying not to wake up Crow, who was sleeping in a bed that was close to the wall behind Yusei. He gave the room a more thorough scan, but saw nothing.

There it was again.

It was much louder this time, though not loud enough to wake up Crow. Yusei felt like it was close. Much to close for his comfort.

Once again he heard it.

Yusei gave an expression of disapproval.

Much to his embarassment, it was his stomach.

Why ever would it be so LOUD he doubted he'd ever know. Then again, he hadn't eaten anything since Jack's most recent death, so of course he'd be hungry.

Though he didn't expect to be starving.

His stomach growled again, being twice as loud as the last, much to Yusei's dismay. How Crow could ever sleep through that solely due to the fact the two were right next to each other, he didn't know.

Glace's ear twitched.

Yusei tried to ignore it, so he laid down on his bed again.

That IRKSOME sound came again. This time, the duelist could feel it. He flipped over.

It wasn't silenced, though it had been muffled.

Yusei clutched his stomach. That time, it somewhat hurt. Well, it had at least felt very strange. He resolved that he was famished beyond comfort.

It was too cold to go out hunting, and Glace would be on him if he tried to pull anything, so there as really only one option.

Deciding he was wide awake anyway, Yusei quietly slipped out of bed, making sure he wasn't disturbing Crow. The duelist snuck downstairs and into the kitchen. Without warning, his feline tail whipped out from behind him, his stomach growling once again in unison. He really had no idea what to eat, so he settled on apple slices and honey. As he reached for the sweet liquid, his ears and whiskers (Yes, even cat whiskers) immediately sprouted from his head and face, respectively.

Yusei sat in a chair with a plate of apple slices and a small bowl of honey. As he was about to pick one up, one of his ears twitched. He heard something, and it WASN'T his stomach, that was for sure. It sounded more like shoes on the staircase. Heavy footsteps lifelessly stomping down the steps. They stopped, and Yusei just brushed the eerie feeling off.

The young duelist was actually a bit frightened. He knew it was childish to fear the dark, but there were no lights on at the time, and he now convinced himself he HAD in fact heard something. Still, he ignored it and ate an apple slice.

Yusei's ears stood straight up as he heard laughing. Very creepy, insane, not to mention high-pitched laughing.

It was familiar.

All too familiar.

There were the footsteps again. A faint, ominous violet glow appeared in the ebony of the hallway. In walked Jack, covered in blood from head to foot. He was laughing AGAIN, and Yusei absolutely HATED when Jack laughed like this, as he had now discovered. And, to his horror, the blonde began to step closer to him. He had never been as terrified in his life as he was now. So, to end it, Yusei ejected his claws and slit Jack's throat. The blonde, however, didn't stop laughing. He did stop moving though. He grinned madly and stared at Yusei, his single eye flaring with insanity. The amber-eyed cobalt duelist stepped back and accidentally dipped his hand into the bowl of honey, covering claw and all with the sweet, golden syrup. Jack's grin only grew wider. Then he did something Yusei would've never thought of as truly horrifying.

Jack started to sing.

But it wasn't just singing. Yusei had heard this before. Or something like it anyway. He'd heard Ash sing 'I Will Not Bow' by Breaking Benjamin, but it was as if he were mouthing the words while listening to a CD. It happened another time with Ryan. He'd sometimes sing 'I Can Walk On Water' by Basshunter, and it was the same situation. The duelist could never figure out the logic behind it, if any.

"Ringo to hachimitsu.

Koucha no jamu wa apurikotto.

Gin'iro no tiisupuun.

Kabe ni houri-nageta."

Jack pointed to Yusei with a seemingly limp left hand.

"Hayaku asobouyo.

Ningyou wa nani mo shaberanai.

Hitotsu shika shirinai.

Uta wo utatte miru no."

Yusei's face was covered in beads of sweat from his terror. Without thinking, Yusei lunged at Jack's bloody body, slashing rapidly and tearing through flesh. More blood began to coat the blonde. Much of it, in fact, was strewn across the room, turning the kitchen into a Civil War medical tent. The honey on Yusei's hands mixed with Jack's blood, turning it a deadly black color. He kept striking, now having the full intentions of killing the other. One hand of claws got stuck in Jack's skull, Yusei quickly yanked it out, horrified at his action, for some reason. More laughing from Jack was all it took to sent the younger duelist up the stairs and into his bed. Jack kept laughing, obviously having no intention on stopping. His blood and honey-covered body, glistened in whatever light his eye provided.

"Aoi kotori.

Kago kara nigete.

Ame ni utarete.

Kirei ni mogeta hane."

And the blonde fell to the floor, dying instantly on the spot.

Upstairs in Yusei's room, Yusei was sitting on his bed, licking the blood and honey off his hands and claws. It tasted sweet and salty. An interesting combination, for sure. He drifted off to sleep in no time.

Glace had been awake the whole time, so she darted quietly down the stairs and into the kitchen. She cleaned up the place with lightning speed, not to mention her brother. She picked up Jack (Who was quite light, not that Glace was surprised) and dashed up the steps. She put him in his bed and got into her own. Sleeping again, the house was quiet.

\(-{:*:}-)/

Jack woke with a start. He wasn't quite sure what had happened that night, but he honestly had no intentions on finding out. He warily got out of bed and just stood there, half asleep.

"Hello!" Glace greeted. Seeing her brother wasn't quite awake yet, she did the unthinkable.

She sprayed him with water.

Thankfully, it was just his face that had gotten wet, or else Glace would be fried chicken by now.

"Okay okay Glace, I'm awake now!" Jack cried.

"Yay!" Grabbing a random potato that just so happened to be on the night stand, Glace twirled around and did her infamous potato dance.

"Uh, is there a reason why it's raining potatoes?" Leo called from downstairs. You'd think he'd be the last one up.

Silver sighed, then called. "Glace, stop doing your potato dance!"

"Sorry Silver!" As she stopped, there were no more potatoes falling from the sky.

Glace plopped onto Jack's bed, while the other sat on the floor. She put her face into the blind duelist's pillow, and stayed in that position.

"Good morning, Glace-kun!"

The tween looked at the floor beside the bed. Laying there, partially underneath said bed, was a white-haired man with red eyes. Or 'eye' anyway. His left one was covered up by his hair. He was dressed in nice, proper clothing. There was a doll on his shoulder, despite the fact gravity should've kept it from being there. On instinct, Glace rapidly slammed her foot into the man, causing him to roll out from underneath the bed. She stopped as she took in who the person was. Immediately, her eye(s)* shimmered brightly in excitement and delight. She glomped the man with happiness.

"Uncle Break!"

\(-{:*:}-)/

"Alice, that food's not ours." Oz stated. "Leave it alone."

"I'm hungry, and there's meat." Alice replied with a mouthful of meat. "So I'm eating it."

"Stupid rabbit." Gilbert muttered.

"Gilbert, you're back!" Ash exclaimed. He gave the raven-haired man a hug, who gladly returned it.

"It's been awhile since I've seen you." Gilbert smiled, ruffling the younger boy's hair. "How's it going?"

"It's going good." Ash replied casually. He glanced around. "Hey, where's Break?"

On cue, Jack, Glace, and Break came tumbling down the stairs. The tween pumped her fist into the air.

"Woo hoo! That was AWESOME! Let's do it again!" She screamed.

"Oh, never mind."

"Though it's a wonderful idea," Break started, "I'd rather not do that again."

"Well, it could've been worse." Jack shrugged.

"Oh?"

"Hm, let's see. Italy could've been here."

"No." Glace said in awe.

"And Japan."

"Really?"

Jack grinned furtively as a reply, which Glace responded by going wide-eyed in realization.

"Now THAT, my friend, would SUCK." Glace grinned. "Oh, hey Alice."

The Chain nearly choked on her food at the remark. She glared at the other. "How. The. Heck. Did. You. Just. Notice. Me?"

"I noticed you a LONG time ago Alice." Glace sighed. "Who wouldn't notice you?"

"Yusei."

"Exactly."

"Did someone say my name?" Yusei poked his head out of the doorway.

Everyone shrugged and went back to whatever they were doing, if anything.

"Hi Jack!" Oz greeted.

"Hello." The duelist replied casually.

"Hey Oz! Check this out!" Glace raised her hands in an awesome fashion. "Socks!"

The blonde boy glanced up at her hands, then down at her feet, then stared at her face.

"Is there any particular reason why you're wearing you socks on your hands and empty tissue boxes on your feet?"

"No."

Yusei burst out laughing from the sight, only to get a tissue box in his mouth. The other one was accurately thrown at his head, causing him to somewhat fall on the floor. Alice hopped onto his head and just sat there. Glace nearly died.

After a few minutes, Yusei yawned. He stood up, brushed himself off, and looked in the fridge. It didn't take long for a confused expression to be plastered on his face.

"Where's the meat?" He asked. Everyone laughed. Alice burped and Yusei looked up. The reason he didn't see her in because he tilted his head to look, so Alice had basically been rotated 90 degrees. Glace mouther the words 'Get down' to the Chain, who slipped off the male's head in response. She whipped out her scythe and pointed it at him.

"Whoa!" Yusei was stunned. "Where the heck did you get that? And exactly where did you come from?"

"Did you just now notice me?" Alice questioned. The others already had their ears plugged (Well, whoever knew to do so).

"Yeah. Why?"

Alice's eyes turned red. She quickly transformed into B-Rabbit and proceeded to pursue the duelist.

"YOU BASTARD!"

She also succeeded in becoming everyone else's wake-up call. Martha shuddered from inside another room. Anyone awake who didn't have their ears covered flinched and went deaf for about three seconds. The ones who did had their hair sticking up in the classic startled anime character style. Luna and Leo along with whoever was up by this time (Minus Martha) somehow made it into the kitchen for breakfast (Also to see what was going on) Though throughout it all, Glace was still grinning.

"I told you so."

"Uhhh..." Jack swayed, then collapsed onto the floor. The group gasped. Well, except for Yusei and Alice, of course, since they weren't in the room at the time to see it.. Everyone's favorite tween walked up to her eldest brother, and noticed the still-expanding pool of blood on the floor. The gashes on his neck had begun to flow, lightly still. Blood was also dripping out of his ear and head, due to the night before. He was still breathing, though it was very harsh. Glace could actually hear the beating of his heart. She lowered herself onto her knees and ran her hand over Jack's face. A sigh of relief was heard.

"It's all right." The sapphire-eyed girl smiled. "He's just exhausted. He didn't have what you would call a 'restful sleep' last night."

"What about his neck?" Luna asked.

"That's nothing to worry about." Glace replied. Her earnest expression was something not often seen by others. "Lex'."

Alexis nodded and came to her side.

"You all go to the Treehouse." She instructed. "We'll meet you there when we're finished."

"I've just met up with my younger niece after so long and you expect me to leave her here?" Break asked. "I think not."

"You may stay." Alexis said.

\(-{:*:}-)/

The enormous group (Now including Yusei and the cast of Pandora Hearts that have been mentioned so far in this chapter) was gathered in a conveniently enormous room. If it weren't for the fact that everything was (Somehow) constructed of various gemstones, the corridor could've easily been mistaken for a normal room. It was, after all, as if the furniture ( \\(*0*)/ ) had simply been made of normal materials, rather that pretty shiny rocks. Well, color aside.

Break was sitting on a couch, hard and soft at the same time. Jack was laying on the same piece of furniture, his head resting in the Illegal Contractor's lap. An unusually large blade of grass layered with cotton was wrapped around his neck. The white plant was dyed partially red, pink in some parts. His head also had a strip around it. The blind boy was sound asleep, his breathing now scarcely heard. Break was stroking his hair, as if he were a mere child, and licking a lollipop in a subconsciously, almost bored manner. Glace was sitting on a chair arm, her left foot planted in the chair itself. Alice was her mirror. Oz lay long ways on another chair, almost seductively, considering his shirt was unbuttoned. His normally energetic emerald eyes lazily scanned the area, though they usually lingered to Jack's sleeping form. Gilbert sat in a chair next to Oz, his legs spread out. Ash leaned on the folded foot rest of Gilbert's chair. These characters were close to each other in terms of both distance and relationship friend-wise. Everyone else was somewhat scattered in various places, quietly chatting amongst the ones they knew. Yusei had left recently, saying to his group he was going to get something to eat.

"The thread's gone, isn't it?"

The group (As in the ones I just mentioned by name) turned to Break. The man's gaze was on Glace. Her visible eye was a dull light gray color, unlike its usual sapphire blue glow.

"Say it again." She mumbled. "Just now."

"You've finally lost that thin thread." Break repeated. "You've finally snapped, haven't you?"

The tween's eye only grew darker.

"Y...yes." She shook her head. "I can't take it anymore. I swore not to purposely kill any one person."

"Unless of course they have sinned past the borders of Hell, no?"

Glace nodded to the contractor. "Right, and I intend to keep my promise."

"But there's one who just doesn't fit, right?" Oz inquired.

"Correct." The sapphire-eyed duelist (Yes, she's a duelist, in case you haven't figured it out yet) slid off the arm of the chair and fell to the floor without warning, unconscious. She coughed unwillingly, blood spurting out of her throat. The crimson liquid was gushing from her chest. All attention turned to the girl as she lie in a puddle of blood.

"Glace!" Ryan cried as he raced to her side. He shook her shoulders. When he didn't receive a response, he felt her wrist for a pulse. At that suspenseful moment, the puppeteer's panic level skyrocketed. He, along with Morgan, Alexis, and Ash, clutched his (their) chest(s) in agony.

"Morgan, what's wrong?" Leo asked.

"Lexi, are you okay?" Taka inquired.

"Bro, chill out man." Connor coaxed. His brother's heartbeat had risen from fright.

Glace was dead, and the four were slowly feeling her pain.

"No." Nemesis breathed.

"I'm fine." Ryan responded, sighing as he did so. "Glace is alive."

"What?"

"Her pulse is faint, but she is in fact alive. I could barely feel it." Ryan chuckled bitterly. "I nearly had a heart attack from the shock."

"Right!" Agony snapped her fingers. "If the leader, or I should say Head Signer, were to die, the four other signers would die with him or her."

Akiza was going to speak, but was interrupted by a scream in the kitchen, followed by a mechanical buzzing sound. Everyone snapped to attention.

"Yusei!" She cried. She, along with the twins, Kalin, and Crow, dashed out of the corridor and toward the noise. The others followed. Break stayed behind, refusing to leave Jack, now that Glace couldn't watch him at the moment. Alice didn't follow.

"I'll tend to Glace." Agony said. "Go with them." Alice glared, but reluctantly nodded and left.

\(-{:*:}-)/

Crow, in his haste to see what had happened, kicked the swinging doors open and accidently knocked them off their hinges. Inside the kitchen space was Yusei, covered in blood and gore. The amber jewels on his clothing were cracked and broken. Shards of the jewels were lodged into Yusei's skin. His clothes were rent and stained. The cobalt-eyed duelist coughed, spilling more blood on the floor. Crow rushed over to his friend's aid, who collapsed in his arms.

"What happened?" Akiza cried.

"A man..." Yusei muttered. "Had... A chainsaw..."

"Chainsaw?" Oz didn't believe his ears.

Yusei merely nodded. "A-Amber-Eyed Cobalt... It was him, I swear..." He coughed as blood splattered onto his and Crow's clothing.

"Yus', stay with us man!" The redhead called. The black-haired teen weakly shook his head and whispered so only Crow would hear.

"H-help... me, please..." Yusei coughed as he tried to speak.

"What is it, Yusei?" Crow asked. "I couldn't hear you."

"K-ki..."

"What?"

Yusei smirked devilishly, weakly so. His voice was very soft. Crow strained to hear him, but grinned when he finally heard him. It was close, for Yusei fainted after the last word.

"Kill... Jack."

**Oooooh this is getting good! So, Glace has finally been 'struck down' by Amber-Eyed Cobalt! But was the one who confronted Jack really Yusei? Or was it something else? How can you explain Yusei being Amber-Eyed Cobalt when he was a target himself? The mystery continues! And yes, this is also the chapter in which I get the story back on track! I just HAD to introduce Pandora Hearts into the thing. Also, I decided not to have any Touhou characters in it. Though there will be some references. Well, that's all I can really think of for now. Oh, and once I finish A-EC, then I'll start on my other series. That's also when I'll do some holiday fanfics. And, as you can see, there will be swearing from here on out. I won't use the 'F' word or 'B' word correctly, simply because of their true meanings. So, see you then!**

*** I will say 'eyes' even though Glace's left eye isn't visible.**

**Oh, and the song Jack began to sing was yet ANOTHER U.N. Owen vocal remix. This time, it was Sweets Time Midnight; hence, the name of this chapter. There are two English translations, one being the real translation and the other being the gruesome reality of the first translation. In other words, what it was supposed to mean.**

_**Glace Hydro ~ The Embodiment of Insanity**_


	12. Chain Reaction to Black and White

**Okay, first of all, I'm terribly sorry about the long wait. I really didn't intend to take this long for the next chapter to be written, but my laptop died on me (Permanently), I'm moving, I can only use my grandparents' computer (Which I am), and I've been really busy with softball. By the way, we won the legue and the tournament, the tourney in which I got the winning run! I'm still overjoyed about that. Anyway, it's obvious that it's been a real challenge to get this in, but here it is after such a long wait! The _Pandora Hearts_ introduction is actually very important in this fanfic, as Chains will play a big role in it. This is made obvious in this chapter, so it's not much of a spoiler. Also, forget anything I said about swearing restrictions. It's just gonna happen on a moderate level, not too much and not too harsh. Well, I don't know. You have now been warned. Also, I intend on rewriting the race in Chapter VI, as it's the most _retarded_ piece of sh*t I've ever writen. Unless you guys actually liked it. Tell me what you thought, and if you have any suggestions, then state them in a review, please. I'd also like to know whose reading this. Thank you all for sticking with it. So enjoy as much as you can of _Amber-Eyed Cobalt - Chapter XII_!**

**\(-{:*:}-)/**

**Amber-Eyed Cobalt**

**Chapter XII: Chain Reaction to Black and White**

Break sat stiffly in the crystal corridor, refusing to move his body. His eyes stared straight ahead without lingering in another direction. The white-haired man finally blinked when he felt a certain blonde-haired boy stir in his sleep. Soon enough, Break's snowy jacket was stained a deep crimson. He gently patted the teen's back so he'd cough up more of the scarlet liquid.

"There there..." The Contractor whispered. "There there..."

"Thank you." Agony smiled at a little golden phoenix, which was hopping away. The pharaohess was holding a medical case, so she probably received it from the baby bird. Speaking of which, she turned to Break.

"How's your boy there?" Agony asked.

"Not too good." The Contractor sighed. "And my niece?"

"Give me a minute." The pharaohess rummaged through her medical case, pulled out a golden magnifying glass, and studied the wound in Glace's chest. She frowned for a moment, then smiled.

"What is it?" Break questioned as Agony removed a medical tool of sorts from the case and slipped it into the gash. It wasn't long before she acted as though she had found something. Break was astonished to see something red and about twice the size of his thumbnail between the ends of the tool. Agony took out a miroscope, a slide, and a clean towel from the medical kit. She wiped off the item with the towel and placed it under the microscope, thus continuing her examination.

"Recently polished...nice curve...just whetted too...cleaned very recently since there's no rust, and that's not from me...been treated well...no scratches...perfect for exquisite murder...I've got it."

"What is it?" Break repeated.

"It's a tooth." The pharaohess replied. "A chainsaw tooth to be exact. It's been expertly made, too. It seems not of this world."

"Let me see." Break opened his palm and Agony tossed him the tooth. He scrutinized the piece of metal, and gave a grunt of satisfaction when he was finished.

"Well?" Agony asked impatiently.

"It seems our killer of New Domino isn't quite human." The Contractor replied. "The chainsaw tooth looks fairly odd for something like it. As a matter of fact, something belonging to a chainsaw shouldn't even have a tooth such as this. The tooth looks new because this was the first time it had ever been used. More importantly, a mere amatuer handled this weapon. Otherwise, Glace would no doubt be dead. It is therefore apparent her assaulter was in a hurry."

"And exactly _how_ does that make Amber-Eyed Cobalt partially inhuman?" The pharaohess questioned.

"Oh, yes. This tooth is, like you said, out of the ordinary. That's because the murder weapon this belongs to is a _Chain_ chainsaw."

"Chain?" Agony repeated.

"Yes." Break replied. "The inhabitants of Abyss. You can ask Oz, Alice, Gilbert, or even Glace and Jack about it."

The Contractor was interupted by the group returning, Crow carrying a bloody and slightly lacerated Yusei.

"Well, well, what happened here?" Agony questioned.

"Yusei was just attacked by Amber-Eyed Cobalt!" Crow exclaimed.

"What is this world coming to?" Alice sighed after one look at Break's crimson clothes.

"An end, no doubt." Gilbert replied warily.

"How very, very unfortunate."

Everyone gasped and turned in Break's direction. They watched in astonishment as Jack rose from his position, stretched, and yawned drowsily. He rubbed his eye and shook his head, then turned to the group. His head was tilted and he was smiling as if he were sincerely cheerful, yet still full of sorrow.

"I thought for sure that Yusei would be our shining star in these dark hours." The blonde said wistfully. "And even so, he is struck down by the one who taught the citizens of New Domino the true meaning of eternal rest. Is there anyone who can tame this horridly unruly sea of torment?"

Jack smiled pleasantly as though he had forgotten any and all of the gruesome weeks and their gorey contents.

"Ah, good morning everyone! Terribly sorry I got up this late! I sincerely didn't mean for it to happen! I'm so embarassed!"

Yet no one paid any attention to his words. They just gawked at the horrid scene before them.

Glace was on the floor with her chest ripped open.

Agony was half-drenched in her hikari's blood.

Half of Break's coat was dyed red.

Jack had spatters of crimson all over him.

And the floor around them was nothing but endless scarlet.

"Is there something wrong?"

Echo turned her head to Jack, who now wore a look of confusion on his face. She quickly shook her head, then nodded in response.

"Well, if you consider both Yusei _and_ Glace nearly dead, not-to-mention the fact that you're going completely _insane_, then yes, there _is_ something wrong."

"Haven't you taken into accout _anything_ that's happened these past few weeks?" Akiza asked harshly.

"I-"

"You're useless!" She continued. "We've all been trying to stop Amber-Eyed Cobalt, and you've been doing nothing! All because of some stupid blindness! How worthless could you possibly-"

"Well look whose the blind one now."

Crow and Akiza turned their heads. Glace had somehow risen to her feet without anyone's notice, and was now breathing, well, oddly. It was hard to put into words, but her teeth - more like fangs - were more visible than usual. Her head was facing the floor, but it was obvious she wasn't very happy. Ot also seemed as though she had claws. And was that a _tail_ they saw? Crow rubbed his eyes and discovered it was no longer there. He was shaking on the inside, but he kept a mask over him to obscure his fear to her.

"Well, someone's pissed." The redhead stated boldly.

"Akiza." The tween said, "You said Jack was worthless because he wasn't taking any part to stop Amber-Eyed Cobalt, our alledged New Domino murderer. However, you can't _really_ say that now, can you?"

"What's your point?" The psychic duelist pushed.

"_My point_, miss Akiza, is that Jack is the one who deserves most credit for any efforts made to prevent Amber-Eyed Cobalt from harming anyone else."

"How's-" Akiza was cut off by Glace's sudden ability to read minds.

"Have you ever actually come face-to-face with Amber-Eyed Cobalt?"

"Well, uh-"

"Not that you know of." Glace interrupted, again. "Has _Jack_ come face-to-face with Amber-Eyed Cobalt? I believe he has."

"That doesn't prove anything!" Crow objected. "If he really knew who Amber-Eyed Cobalt was, then he would have told us and authorities who!"

"You know nothing, you stupid black bird. Jack was most likely forced to refrain from revealing Amber-Eyed Cobalt's identity."

"It's true." Jack confirmed. "He threatened to kill Carly if I did-"

"Are you fucking serious?" Crow roared. "One woman over thousands of innocent lives? You're so pathetic! I don't even know why Martha bothered to raise you with us! All you've ever done is get in the way and/or cause problems." By this time, Crow had raced up to the bolnde and pinned him against the wall. The redhead started beating him, and Jack didn't hold back, for some unknown reason.

"Tell me who he is!"

"I won't do it!"

"I said tell me!"

"You'd never believe me anyway!"

Jack's body was once again covered in scarlet blood that was his own. His screams of agony penetrated the evening silence of suspense. There were plenty of sickening cracks that were just barely heard over him. Glace desparately wished to help him, but Agony Atenra had taken her away from the scene. Despite her protests, the pharaohess had miraculously managed to convince the tween her cousin would be just fine.

"Tell me who he is NOW!"

"No!"

"Tell me!

"I can't!"

"Do it!"

I told you I CAN'T!"

"If you don't tell me right now I'll kill you!"

"You can't make me!"

"Tell me!"

"I said no!"

Crow growled furiously. He had completely lost his patience with this kid. He had had _enough_. He squeezed Jack by the neck and slammed him against the floor.

"Tell me!"

"I... won't... tell you... his name..."

Crow's eyes blazed with rage. He lifted his foot up and glared at the frigtened male before him. He would show no mercy. _I have HAD IT!_

"YOU WORTHLESS BASTARD! YOU SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN BORN!"

"Then so be it!" Jack cried. Literally. Tears were flowing down his face, making him seem extremely small. He looked like a mere child for Ra's sake.

Crow brought his foot down.

On Jack's head.

There was a crack unlike the others. It wasn't any less sickening, but it was just different. A deafening scream was also heard, and the rest of the group (Most of them had actually run off) had to cover their ears to avoid permanent loss of hearing.

Crow glared at the blonde, his breath coming out his nose. The latter was still.

Much, much too still.

The redhead's breathing leveled out, and his eyes went to a more peaceful look, rather than one full of malice. He kneeled beside Jack and grabbed his wrist. It wasn't rough nor gentle, but he still grabbed it. He placed his middle and index finger below his palm. Waiting for a few seconds, he then removed his hand and felt his chest. He let his hand sit there for roughly five second each, then finally stood up.

"Dammit!" He screamed.

"What's wrong with him?" Luna inquired.

"He's okay, isn't he Crow?" Leo followed.

"You didn't." Oz said. That was all. Crow just shook his head in silence.

"No." The duelist replied at last. "He's not okay."

"What do you mean 'not okay'?" Leo urged. "He's _Jack_! He _has_ to be okay!"

"Leo's right." Luna stood by her brother.

"This is _Jack_ we're talking about here. He can live through anything, right?"

"Crow, I don't understand." Akiza stated. "What's up with Jack?"

"Isn't it obvious enough?" Crow clenched his fists. "Or are we all blind like Glace had said?"

"It can't be..." Akiza gasped.

"Jack's dead."

\(-{:*:}-)/

**"Well, well. What do we have here?**

Jack stood up weakly with the dark voice. There was no floor, no walls, yet he was trapped, unable to escape.

Trapped in nothing.

**"I suppose you went and got yourself beaten up again, did you not? You do that all the time." **The unknown speaker laughed. **"I never really liked you. Then again, you already knew that, didn't you?"**

"Perhaps I did." Jack replied. "And like you said, you never cared about me, so why would it matter to you?"

**"I don't find it amusing how you go and destroy _my_ property."**

"I know, you've said it before." Jack sighed. "You've haunted me for years. Your power grows with my own mental pain, I know. When I'm subject to hate, pain, suffering, and the greed of others, your hold is harder to shake. And you know? After all these years, you still don't have a name.

"Pride, yes, that's what I'll call you."

**"If you know so much, then you should know by now to shut up when in my presence, _boy_."**

"And if I don't?" Jack inquired. It wasn't arrogant, no not at all. It was just a quick spark of bravery.

**"Then _this _happens!"**

An ebony blast from nowhere struck the blonde in the chest and sent him flying into an invisible wall. He cried out in pain as he made contact. His calm expression turned to one of sheer terror as the figure emerged from the darkness.

This figure was clad in a black overcoat and a gray undershirt. The shirt's pattern was similar to the one on Jack's shirt, only it was crimson insitead of blue. His eyes weren't visible under his hair, which was blonde. The metal clasps on his body were spiked. His black boots were probably tipped with steel. His voice sounded like Jack's, only with its own level of wickedness.

**"Well now, boy, do you see what happens when you mess with me?" **The black clothed figure chuckled ominously. **"Just as I thought. Worthless! Absolutely worthless!"**

"You! Stay away!" Jack sqeaked.

**"Aren't you the stubborn one, hm?" **Pride brushed his hair away to reveal dark purple eyes, much darker than Jack's own. The entity, to be honest, looked like a darker image of Jack. **"Perhaps I can silence you. That _friend _of yours certainly failed to do so."**

Jack screamed as the end of Pride's boot connected with his chest. Several parts of his ribcage were already shattered, but by now they were probably dust despite Glace and Alexis's efforts. Blood streamed out his mouth and down his face. He tried breathing, but the crimson liquid blocked entry of oxygen into his lungs. He tilted his body foward, hoping the blood would drain out. However, Pride grabbed his collar and held him against the invisible wall.

**"Ah, ah ah, not this time you don't. You've gotten lucky too many times. I'll have you drown in your own blood. What a delightful way to die, no?"**

Jack was squirming in the entity's grip. He threw his head down towards the ground and hacked harshly. A scarlet puddle formed shortly underneath him. Eventually, there was enough blood out of his throat for him to breathe again. He gasped with the sudden breach. Pride growled and let go of the other blonde. Jack fell into his own blood and onto the floor. He didn't bother to get up.

**"Be thankful this is only in your head, boy. Your body won't suffer any physical harm if it's all happening in your mind, right? No matter how many times I try to kill you, you always keep coming back. I'll have control of this body one way or another!"**

"I-I can't l-let you h-have it... Not wh-hen it's n-not yours-s." Jack stuttered. He sat up and clutched his knees. He felt as though something had stirred in his stomach. Though it wasn't his stomach, rather it was his entire body. It was probably just nervousness.

**"Really? Then I guess I'll have to take what's _rightfully mine_!" **Out of nowhere, a pitch black sword materialized in Pride's hand. He slashed "playfully" at Jack's chest, ripping his shirt. There was a thin, red line along his body now. The blonde held in a yelp. The feeling grew slightly.

**"Done already? I was just getting started!" **Pride slashed again, only the blade dug a little deeper into Jack's chest, also snapping the stitches. The entity grinned as the other boy gave a small scream in response to the pain. Unbeknownst to him, however, the strange feeling in Jack's body was slowly growing.

**"I hate to end the fun now, but I'm getting tired of play. I'll finish you here and now, what do you say?" **Not waiting for or wanting an answer, Pride thrust his sword into Jack's chest. Blood spurted out of the flesh wound, much to his delight. However, he'll soon wish he had never done so.

An inhuman screech echoed off along the transparent walls in the eerie corridor. Pride showed his first signs of surprise and perhaps lingering fear when he heard it.

**"What the Hell!" **The dark figure gasped and quickly withdrew his blade when he laid eyes on Jack.

He was the one screaming.

The blonde's hands were tightly gripping his head, as though he had claws and was trying to puincture his skull. His earsplitting cries were enough to signal something abnormal was taking place. The feeling he had been receiving had escalated to a level beyond his average tolerance. His position shifted to where his face was no longer visible, and was concealed by his legs and knees. Except for the flesh wounds he had just received from Pride, there wasn't much else wrong with him.

Then the scenario completely changed.

A blinding light flashed around Jack's body, but the light was black, and Pride had to shield his eyes from it. The invisible floor began to glow a bluish color. No, there were patterns on it. These patterns looked like a clock numbered with Roman Numerals. The hands swung around the clock in a matter of seconds, and in between the center of the clock and the Roman Numerals, was a name of sorts.

Y~LD-Dragon.

The clock disappeared, and the light died down. Pride's arms moved back to his sides, and he gawked at the blonde before him. The difference between light and dark were evident in him.

The right side of Jack seemed to be brighter than usual. That side of his jacket was a pinkish color. Not a girly pink, but a bright, heavenly pink. His hair on that side seemed to have brighter highlights not there beforehand. The metal clasps on his arms also seemed to be a lighter color. He even seemed to have _fangs, claws and spikes on his knees_. His right side seemed to be overall pristine compared to normal circumstances. There wasn't any difference on either side of his shirt of pants.

The left side of his body, however, was different.

His jacket was a deep, dark violet, and was very well in tatters. His hair was also a darker shade of gold. The metal clasps were darker and had spikes on them. The claws on his left hand were slightly bent. His left fangs and spike on his left knee were slightly bent as well. It was a horrifying sight compared to his right side. Jack's screeches increased drastically in intensity and volume, and Pride was about to learn why.

Dragon wings sprouted from his back, growing steadily larger in mere seconds. The right wing was a slightly darker shade of pink than his jacket, and probably glistened with beauty. Silver spikes protruded from the bone on the wings that hung down and from the section where it just began to curve downward. His left wings were mirror images, save for the color being darker than the left side of his jacket, the structure being bent, and the thin membrane was ripped horridly. This wing also seemed to be sagging a bit. The spikes were crimson instead of silver. Two tails whipped out from behind the blonde, each of them nearly mirroring their respective wing. His ears also became slightly long and dragonlike, once again mirroring one of the wings.

And last but certainly not least, his pupils were now scarlet diamonds.

He had a left pupil.

But he didn't have a left eye.

And he couldn't see out of it either.

The Chain dwelling inside of Jack body had finally awakened.

It was driving his senses mad.

_Kill._

That was all he could hear.

_Kill._

That was all he could think.

_Kill them all!_

_I must!_

_I want blood!_

_His blood..._

Jack stood up, and a sword longer than he was materialized in his hand, one side darker and one side lighter. This blade was also purple, and seemed very unique and not of this world. His breathing seemed different somehow, though Pride couldn't put a finger on it.

"You..."

**"You called?"**

"You took control of my body for years." Jack hissed. "You abused the ones I held close. You caused my friends to hate me. I won't have you waiting to steal it back after you've wronged my life, distorted it. It's about time I end my suffering.

"I hate to end the fun now, but I'm getting tired of play. I'll finish you here and now, what do you say?"

Jack raised his sword.

The last thing he heard was Pride's screams of agony.

\(-{:*:}-)/

**Well, was that good enough for you? Yes, it took _me that _long just for me to write about 4,000 words or something. I know, I'm pathetic. To Starlight Warrior 1092 (I think that's the number, sorry if I got it wrong), I still remember the promise I made about this chapter. Tigerclaw wasn't in here, but that's because the first doc of this chappie was lost on my laptop. Thus, I had to rewrite it, and I couldn't look at the original for reference. Thus, it didn't go exactly as planned. Don't worry, I will get him in there eventually. I also managed to get Echo to speak! How amazing! Yeah don't worry, I haven't forgotten about anyone. Yet. And yes, Jack knows what Chains would be because, unbeknownst to him, he _is_ one. I'm also going to be referring to the Hydro's relation to Jack as cousinry until the very end. I'm also probably going to have an epilogue (Or however you spell that), a question and answer session with the characters in this fic who will be answering any questions you ask me at any time, and deleted scenes along with Glace and the gang describing a "normal" day in their lives and the things they do for "fun", all in three seperate chapters. Submit any questions you have, and they will be answered in the chapter after the epilogue (Unless I feel as though it's not needed) by different characters. These questions will be general info questions, not ones regarding to the storyline. For example, "Is Jack gonna get his eye back?" would be a question regarding the storyline. A question like, "How did Glace survive for two years without food?" would be one that would be featured in the Q&A chapter. Once again, thank you everyone for sticking with it this far. I appreciate your support. Oh, and one more announcement. As of now, I am turning off Anonymous Reviews for all of my stories. I appreciate the Anonymous Reviews I have received, but some of them are just downright annoying. Fanfic Supporter, whoever you are, you aren't one of the ones I consider to be annoying. I cherish your reviews, but it would be nice to be able to reply to them. It's also nice to know which users to hate and which ones to love. *Cough*Nauran*Cough* _HAET_! Anyway, if you have any ideas for the race that I'll be rewriting, please let me know. I love you all (Except Nauran, I hate you) so much. Please review, and I hope you all have a great summer. I'm going to IkasuCon in Fort Wayne, IN this year, so if any of you guys are going, please let me know. I hope to see you there! I'm also going to Texas for a few weeks. It's gonna be fun. See you later!**

_**Glace Hydro ~ Icy Insanity**_


	13. The Melancholy Music Box

**So, does anyone besides me think this chapter came out way too late? Well, whether you do or not, I'm terribly sorry. My life's been very hectic, and I've been without access to this chapter for approximately three weeks. In that time, I published two Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds one-shots, and a Pokemon fanfic. This story, like A-EC, will be a longer one. In other words, I now have two stories to work on, and that certainly didn't work out the first time I did that. But, I'll try. Also, do you think this needs to be changed to M rating? If so, just tell me. But be warned: if it comes to the point where I get quite a few people telling me this, then Amber-Eyed Cobalt will be deleted from. I refuse to be the author of an M-rated story. Now, without further ado, here is the long-awaited Chapter XIII of Amber-Eyed Cobalt! (One last thing, did anyone notice this was Chapter 13?)**

**\(-{:*:}-)/**

**Amber-Eyed Cobalt**

**Chapter XIII: The Melancholy Music Box**

_There was fog in the air that night. The gray sky twinkled with snow-white stars. The soft earth glistened with frost. The hedges and bushes around were a pale green with white rosebuds. There was the faint sound of music in the distance. Everything was white in this country, if anything the majestic garden._

_A little girl no older than the age of eight was in a white flowerbed clearing inside the rozen maze. She had golden-auburn with a white rose on either side. She wore a glistening silver-white dress and a silver locket. Her right eye was an ice-sapphire blue. Her left eye was covered up by some sort of jewel casing of a similar color. The tips of five scars were visible on its upper and lower edges. She wore snow white shoes like slippers or heels (Kind of like Cinderella's shoes, only without the heel if they had one). She stared ahead into the winding maze, a dismal, sort of heartbroken look in her eyes. Tears had stained her cheeks as well._

_The young girl was holding upside-down in her hands a bouquet of white rosebuds. But there wasn't any wrapper to contain the thorns. They pricked her fingers and caused them to bleed. The blood dripped down the stems of the roses and onto the buds. Almost like magic, the roses bloomed a midnight black rather than a vast white. The buds on the bushes and the hedges bloomed black as well. The white sky turned to a normal midnight color. Bloody tear streamed down her cheeks. They stained her dress, giving it an odd, gruesome pattern. Her shoes were dark as the sky. The only white left in the world was whatever was the whites of her eyes. The girl didn't move; she just stood there. She waited for something, though there was no one else there._

_At last, she turned. Behind her was a dark violet slab, similar to a gravestone. It seemed to be made out of gemstones, as it wasn't a solid color. There were spots where the violet was light lavender. Black-crimson began to rain down on the garden maze, staining and burning the girl more and more. The flowerbed looked like the sky itself. It was hard to tell where the ground was. She crouched down and laid the rose bouquet in front of the slab. In the scarlet rain, the text was barely unreadable. However, it was still readable to her._

_The girl carefully read each line, as if trying to memorize every written word. She stood up and continued to stare at the slab. A solemn, disembodied howl was heard in the distance._

_"Jackie," She whispered, "When will you come home?" Her eyes squinted shut as she silently cried and cried to her heart's demise._

_\(-{:*:}-)/_

_The scene then warped to a room in Martha's orphanage, the alleged time being about a month ago from the garden. The same girl from before was leaning tiredly on a seventeen-year-old girl who looked similar to her. This teenager was wearing a royal blue shirt with silver diamond patterns, a pair of jeans, and the buttons of her black trench coat were transparent silver diamonds. The younger girl was wearing a white and pink night gown._

_"Agony, will Jack come back to Satellite?" The eight-year-old's gleaming marble eyes were flooded with shimmering hope and cuddly cuteness._

_"Of course he will." Agony replied with a smile of reassurance. "I bet he'll even return for your next birthday."_

_"You think so?"_

_"I know so."_

_\(-{:*:}-)/_

_The scene changed again. It was the same garden from before, the same slab, but the hedges and bushes were much taller and larger, and the stone's writing was faded to the point where it made no sense. The plants bore more thorns, and their color was barely distinct. The flowerbed glistened with fresh blood as the scarlet rain beat down. The black rose bouquet, along with dozens more laid there over time, had grown into a small garden of them around the tombstone. Overall, the place was in ruins. The girl now looked three years older, but the dress was larger than before. It was also blue with some white near the ends and on the sleeves. The white was crimson, nearly black by now. The casing on her face had lost its shine, and her eyes were without the lust they had before. Her facial expression seemed to be fixed into one of sorrow and longing. Her hair was also longer. She was holding another rose bouquet, which each rose was colored half black and half white. The locket around her neck was slightly cracked and charred. The chain looked about ready to snap into pieces. The girl was reading the text on the slab again. Hardly any of it was eligible, but alas, there was some. Some, just a little bit._

_The maiden laid her new bouquet of roses with the others and shook her hands. Blood sprinkled onto the sticky soil as it dripped off of them, and a few of the many thorns lodged in her skin, opening old and creating new wounds. As she had done three years prior, she began to silently cry. Her transparent tears glistened in the silver moonlight. The eleven-year-old girl clenched her fists and fell to her knees. She coughed and lost consciousness on the crimson flowerbed. Her hand was weakly gripping the stone slab._

_"Glace!" A faint, panicked call echoed far off in the distant lights of New Domino. Its shaky, frightened tone emphasized the need to be heard._

_"Glace!" It cried again. "Please, help me!" The voice was drowning in its own screams of pain._

_"Help!"_

_\(-{:*:}-)/_

_Another scene change._

_This time, the setting was a cliff near the Enforcers hideout. A little girl weeks away from seven years of age was standing next to Jack, gripping his hand tightly. She was wearing a cowgirl-style hat, and an Enforcers jacket. Her pants also had fluff on the edges. Her shirt was an ice blue, and her matching sapphire-blue eyes were gleaming in fear. Her free hand was gripping her messy golden-brown hair. Jack, Kalin, Crow, and Yusei were arguing about something._

_That something was the girl._

_"Look, I know she's a good duelist, but think about how we must seem to other duel gangs out there!" Crow screamed in the blonde's face. "Our reputation's on the line here!"_

_"Reputation?" Jack answered calmly. He was still afraid of him and Yusei, but he hated showing that out in the open. "This is what we're arguing about? Reputation? We're not children anymore, Crow. There's not a reason to fight over something as meaningless as reputation."_

_"See?" This is what I've been talking about!" Yusei growled. He was now facing Kalin. "I've told you time and time again to kick this bastard off the team! All he was ever doing was holding us back! But did you listen? No, you didn't! He's worthless!"_

_"Yeah, yeah, I know!" Kalin yelled back. "I should've listened to you. But I was an idiot, and didn't. And I honestly regret that decision. Now look what happened because of my stupidity! This five-year-old bitch comes along and says she's part of the Enforcers!"_

_"Take it back!"_

_"Why should he, Jack?" Crow taunted. "After all, this was your problem in the first place. So, it's your fault we're even in this mess from the start!"_

_"He should take it back because Glace had nothing to do with it!" Jack retorted._

_"Oh, really? I guess it was her fault she's involved because she came by choice." Yusei smirked. "How's that for a change?"_

_"I already said it!" Jack cried. "Glace didn't do anything! It's my fault, so punish me!"_

_"Jackie, stop it!" The girl screamed. "Please Kalin, don't hurt him!"_

_"You know what? I've had it with you!" Kalin roared. "You can just go to Hell!"_

_The teen leader lunged toward the girl and gave her a vertical smack to the left side of her face._

_And from that moment on, their world was flipped upside-down._

_The Enforcer suddenly began screaming for no apparent reason. Yusei and Crow gave him a questioning look, but went wide-eyed with the sight of blood on Kalin's hand. More of the crimson liquid was gushing out of the young female's face, particularly the area where she was scratched rather than smacked. Jack had rushed to her aid, taking off his coat and using it as something of a bandage (Well, it helped). The ice-haired teen threw something in a random direction as though it were burning him to death and wiped off his hands on his pants._

_"Ewe, ewe, ewe, ewe, ewe!" He squeaked._

_The hurled object was round and bloody, but not just from his hand._

_It was an eyeball._

_A human eyeball._

_An icy sapphire-blue human eyeball._

_You don't even have to guess where that came from._

_"Hush, hush." Jack whispered to the girl. "I'll make sure you're okay, I promise you." There wasn't a response, only the faint sound of weak breathing._

_The violet-eyed teen scooped up the petite duelist in his arms, and for the first time in his life, glared at Yusei, Kalin, and Crow. The three Enforcers froze, unable to move at all. Their would-be brother's look was one of pure hatred, no fear or tentativeness in his eyes. For the first time ever, Yusei and Crow saw Jack as something besides a cowardly boy who played with dolls and never fought on his own._

_They saw him as a demon._

_"How could you?" He screeched. "I won't stand any more of this! It's over, Kalin! We're through!"_

_With the girl still in-hand, he tore away from the group and their hideout._

_"Jack, come back here!" Kalin called. "We're still a team, right? Right?"_

_The blonder heard his shouts, but completely ignored them. He nuzzled the little girl lovingly, holding her closer._

_"I'm sorry, Glace!" He cried. "I'll never let this happen to you again! I promise!"_

\(-{:*:}-)/

Glace's eye snapped open with shock. She began to sit up, but fell back onto the bed in pain. She was unable to hold back a whimper. Wait, a bed?

_Where am I?_

"Oh, did I disturb you?"

Silver stood outside the room's open door. His hands were up close to his chest, gripping something she couldn't make out. The lighting was too dim in the hallway.

"No." She murmured. "You're okay. You can come in."

Closing the door behind him, the red-haired teen walked quietly up to his sister. "Are you okay? Wait, don't answer that."

"What's in your hand?"

"Oh, this?" Silver held out a loaf of bread. "Martha said to give you some time to rest, but I figured you'd be hungry. I'm not supposed to be in here, actually."

"Uh, thanks." She glanced around the best she could. "Just set it down somewhere, I guess."

Glace made another attempt to sit up, and with much difficulty, managed to keep upright. She realized she wasn't wearing her earlier attire. Instead, she was wearing an outfit that looked like one Silver had worn a few years ago (his first outfit in Pokemon Special). The only difference was the red was a light blue. She also wasn't wearing the gloves, and she was barefoot.

"So, what were you thinking about, if anything at all?"

"Hm?" The sapphire-eyed girl closed her eyes. "Nothing much. Just memories."

"Memories, huh. You were never the type to think about moments in the past. Must've been something serious. Or nice, maybe."

"Eh, just some things I'd like to forget. But, since my mind seems to enjoy locking certain events in my head, I might as well recollect what took place. Who knows, perhaps I'll find reason behind them one day."

"Well, the important thing," Silver took a seat next to Glace, "Is that you're awake. You've been out for a couple of days."

"Any more Amber-Eyed Cobalt attacks?" She asked.

"Yeah, though they were all in Satellite this time. The only evidence were blood splatters. I recall a shred of white material, most likely used for clothing, at one scene. Glace, I think the others are beginning to suspect Jack."

"Beginning?" The blue-eyed girl repeated. "More like continuing. To them, he's been acting weird since the first attack. Of course they'd suspect him."

The two made eye contact for a brief moment, before Silver looked away. "By the way, Trudge stopped by yesterday."

"What'd he say?"

"He said the hair they found at the first crime scene belonged to Jack."

"No way, no how."

"Well, it did." Silver sighed. "Turns out the black part was just ink. If you think about it, the current scenario is screaming, 'Jack went to great lengths to frame Yusei.'"

"I see." Glace crossed her arms. "But, don't tell me you're actually siding with that-"

"Of course not." Silver hissed with the thought. "Look Glace, I hate him just as much as you do, but I'm just relaying the facts."

"So, what happened after that?"

"Oh, yes, well Jack was listening the whole time, albeit out of Trudge's sight. He suddenly gripped his head, whispering, 'It hurts.' a whole bunch. I don't really know why, but I got him out of there and away from the group as fast and as quietly as I could. Thankfully, he started screaming _after_ he was far away from everyone. But, oh Ra, I'm pretty sure I'm still deaf in one ear. I don't even think that was screaming anymore."

The younger Hydro shook her head. "Maybe..."

"What's on your mind?" The silver-eyed boy inquired.

"Silver, do you think it's possible for a Chain to also be human?" Glace asked.

Silver shrugged. "Well, Alice was a human, so I suppose so."

"Well, do you think perhaps Jack is a Chain too?"

The room was silent. The boy blinked.

"W-what? Jack, a-a Chain?" Silver chuckled quietly. "That's ridiculous. What made you think of something so absurd?" He stopped laughing. "...You're serious, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"Oh..." He glanced at the floor. "I'm not entirely sure how to respond to that. Wait, now I know; once again, what made you think of that?"

Glace shrugged. "I dunno. It just seems...logical."

"Glace, there isn't anything logical about Chains."

"Oh, right."

"Well, the bread's on this chair, so if you want it." Silver said as he stood up. "Another moment in here and Martha's gonna be on me like... Well, you get the point. Besides, you need some rest." Opening the door, he turned and looked back. "Glace, get well soon." There was a click as the red-haired boy left.

The room was once again dead silent. Glace tiredly shifted her legs. She shivered as a cold object brushed up against her skin. _What could that be? _She wondered. The duelist grabbed the object and studied it closely. She gasped.

"It's..."

_How did this get here?_

"My locket..."

The silver locket was closed. It didn't gleam, and was cracked far beyond repair. The chain was gone, and half of it you could hardly tell was silver, it was burned so much. The patterns on it were gone. Using her fingernail, she gently pried the locket open. As she did, music started to play. It sounded like it was coming from a music box. Inside the locket were two pictures, one on either side. One was of a man, and the other a woman. They looked strangely similar to two dolls she had seen before.

_"These dolls... They're my favorite."_

Glace sighed. "How often must my own mind see the need to torture me until it is satisfied?"

\(-{:*:}-)/

Akiza walked through a garden maze with admiration. She plucked a black rose from its stem and smiled.

"This place is so beautiful." She thought aloud. "Who ever would have thought Satellite would be home to something with such majesty?"

She continued along the winding path, unsure of what lie ahead. Eventually, she came to a clearing; the end of the maze. Scarlet roses covered the ground completely. Vines were wrapped around anything that had been there the whole time.

"Whats this?" Akiza crouched in front of a violet stone. "It looks like a gravestone." She attempted to read the words, but was unable to comprehend any of it. This is what she saw:

********* Jack *******

****03 - ~~~~**

**F**h**: *o** *******

****t***: ***s*** **g**a****

**A***: **n***

****c**: K***n Re****** (**r*e* *r*a*)**

****o****s:**

****v** **l*** *******

***i***r*:**

****g***l* ***e**s *******

******** **a** *******

"What! This can't be right!" She wondered. She felt as though something was telling her to leave. The psychic duelist backed away from the stone cautiously.

"What's Jack's name doing of a gravestone? He's not dead! Crow had to have been wrong! Besides, who knows how long this has been here? What is this place anyway? I've got to get out of here!"

Akiza turned around and bolted away from the stone and out of the maze. She never returned to the garden, despite its beauty.

It was no wonder the maze belonged to Satellite

\(-{:*:}-)/

**Okay, first of all, I have no idea why it took me so long to type this. Secondly, school just started for me, so I won't be able to update very much anyway. Thirdly, I'd suggest not waiting so excitedly for another update. I've been without inspiration to write for a long time, and without inspiration, I can't write anything good. I plan of finishing Battle II of _Black Light of Aurora_, but I'm not sure about after that. My greatest hope is that you enjoy what has been written. I need some sort of inspiration to write, as I've also been without the want to do so. Don't get me wrong, I want to write the story, but I'm just not enjoying it as much anymore. Please help me, readers, if you can. Also, please ASK QUESTIONS! ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS! I cannot stress this enough. I want QUESTIONS! Well, besides the 'when are you going to update?' questions. Those of you who have sent me those: you're fine. I don't have any real problem with it, but that's not what I mean by 'questions', to you other people. Anyway, I've decided to let a few characters be in a chapter, instead of all of them. That way, I can hopefully get some more lines and opinions out of others *cough* Echo *cough* I guess that's it for now. A couple other things:**

**The song I mentioned that was playing during the time of the flashbacks was "Rose of Pain" by X-Japan, music box version. 'Tis pretty.**

**I promise I will update on Sept. 22, at the most.**

**_Glace Hydro ~ Lord of Icy Insanity_  
**


	14. The Dreaded Author's Note

Dear readers of _Amber-Eyed Cobalt_,

I'm terribly sorry it took me this long to tell you this, but I'm discontinuing _Amber-Eyed Cobalt_. Why?

1. I don't have too much time anymore.

2. There was virtually no plot.

3. I couldn't write off of what I had.

4. I became bored of it.

5. I have another fanfic I'm trying to write.

I'm really sorry you guys, and I don't like typing this myself, but I'm hoping you'll all understand.

BUT!

Do not, for a second, think that A-EC's gone for good! I promise you, I WILL be re-typing it! When that may be, I can't say for sure. But I will be making some changes. Here are some examples:

What will stay in _Amber-Eyed Cobalt_:

The Hydros will still make an appearance.

The elemental relationship concerning signer marks will stay the same.

There will still be a murder plot, in one way or another.

What will change:

There will be a LOT of characters taken out! That way, It'll be easier to remember who's who. (E.x. There will be no YGO DM characters.)

I'll try to cut down on the crossovers.

Tigerclaw will hopefully get more screen time.

Once again, I'm so sorry it had to come to this, but please understand.

~Xerxes Glace Hydro


End file.
